Birmingham Open Studios: Improving Accessibility

Aim

Birmingham Open Studios opens doors to spaces where artists create their work. Our aim is to make these doors easier to find.

THIS CROWDFUNDER CAMPAIGN HAS NOW FINISHED. HOWEVER, YOU CAN STILL HELP SUPPORT OUR AIMS BY BUYING MERCHANDISE AND DONATING VIA OUR WEBSITE SHOP. 

BUSINESSES CAN ALSO SUPPORT US BY SPONSORING OUR EVENT, OR TAKING OUT ADVERTS IN OUR GUIDEBOOKS.

PLEASE SEE WEBSITE AND GET IN TOUCH FOR MORE DETAILS

www.birminghamopenstudios.co.uk


Birmingham Open Studios is an inclusive artistic community event like no other. It allows artists of all experience, backgrounds and age to exhibit and sell their art from their own homes and studios across Birmingham.

Birmingham Open Studios is unique as professional artists and less experienced creatives exhibit equally. Any artist is able to participate, as long as they create tangible non-performance art. 

Our youngest artist to date was 12 years old, and our eldest artist exhibited from her retirement community.

We celebrate creatives from all cultural backgrounds, and support artists with disabilities. Everyone is welcome to join.

Our event takes place annually in autumn, and runs across 2 consecutive weekends. It operates as an art trail across Birmingham, allowing visitors to see behind usually-closed doors, where artists actually create their work, and meet the creatives face to face.

Artists can showcase as much of their work as they choose, and any money they make is theirs to keep! The event brings communities together, and promotes social cohesion. It is really inspiring to see what artists are making in studios, bedrooms, and garages across the city.

Thousands of people enjoyed the event last year, and each year more and more artists participate across a larger area of the city. 

We are proud to also have received the backing of local ambassadors. UB40 musician & artist Brian Travers was our first ambassador until his sad passing. Birmingham comedian and arts champion Joe Lycett took over as ambassador in 2023.

SO WHY DO WE NEED YOUR HELP:

Our aim has always been to be as affordable and accessible for artists as possible, meaning we keep our membership fee affordable to artists from all backgrounds. We do not want to price artists out.

However, feedback is that there are a few improvements that will make the event more enjoyable and successful for artists and visitors.

We are seeking £7000 to help improve the event.

For this we are aiming to fund a mobile app that will help visitors navigate the event easier on their phones. The app will offer an artist database, stating when they are open, and where to find them – plus images, bios, artistic mediums and much more.

We also aim to commission a local map maker to create a visually attractive user-friendly map for visitors to navigate the event. This will be included in our free guidebook, which is already available and funded directly by artist membership.

The rest of the funding will be used to improve our website, in terms of design, user experience and speed.

And with our stretch target of £10,000, we are aiming to expand into North Birmingham, where artists are rather disconnected from the main arts scene in central and south Birmingham.

Without funding we cannot achieve these goals, so we have a few ways to reward people for their donations

You can help back our project for as little as £10. For which you will receive a pin badge to show your support, and help promote the event further by wearing it with pride.

Larger donations will receive a T-shirt, and be entered into our art gift prize draw, where you can win a voucher to spend up to £250 on art during the event in Autumn. You can also win art prize donated by our artists.

Our largest donation packages are aimed at businesses, who wish to advertise through our guidebooks, or even become an official sponsor for the event. This is a great chance to promote your business to a wide audience, and show your support for ground-root arts, and a thriving creative city. 

Our Crowdfunder will go live on March 11th, and will last 4 weeks. It is vital to start building traction and receiving pledges straight away for our best chance of succeeding.

The arts are going through one of the biggest challenges in decades, so please help keep creativity alive in Birmingham for the artists, our visitors, and to inspire future generations.

Thank you!

Note: If we are unsuccessful in reaching our target, we will still honour our prizes, and will prioritise our spending to finance either an app or a map.

This project successfully funded on 22nd April 2024