OVER 250 artists across Belfast will open their private workspaces to the public for the Belfast Open Studios event next weekend. On October 20, visitors will be invited into artists' studios to see the work they are developing and to catch a glimpse of the creative process in action.
Back for its fifth year, 2018's free Belfast Open Studios event will feature 14 studios open to the public between 11am and 5pm, with talks and tours running throughout the day.
Visitors can expect to see paintings emerging from blank canvases, initial sketches becoming fully realised artworks and sculpture being formed from the raw materials.
You will be able to see artwork that has never been seen in public before, as well as examples which have been exhibited in galleries around the world.
"Belfast Open Studios is a unique event where you can see artworks up close and talk to the artists themselves," explains Rob Hilken, Northern Ireland manager for Visual Artists Ireland.
"The artists hope that by opening their doors they will inspire the next generation of artists to get creative and make some new fans of their work for themselves."
This year the event is a part of the Open House Belfast festival which runs from October 19 to 21 and celebrates architecture, engineering and public space in the city.
The first Open House festival was organised in London in 1992 by Open Cities and has since spread to over 40 cities around the world, where Open House weekends happen annually.
"There is innovative, exciting work being produced by Belfast’s architects, engineers and artists," says Conor McCafferty, Creative Producer at Belfast Open House organisers PLACE, the built environment centre.
"That's why we were excited to partner with Visual Artists Ireland to bring a new audience to the artists who are hard at work in studio spaces throughout the city."
:: See Belfastopenstudios.com
