Fifth Annual Open Studios
The Largest Open Studio Celebration in Australia
No matter what your passion is, the 5th Annual Open Studios event in Margaret River will have an open door studio to match the soul of your personal artistic imagination. This not-to-be-missed event is the largest of its kind in Australia. This year, with more than 130 participating studios and an even larger number of artists, you’ll want to carefully plan your day so that you get to explore and experience as many open studios as possible. There are open studios all along the cape-to-cape terrain, from Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin.
You can set your sights on visiting all of the participating studios in one area over a several day adventure, or you can program your daily outings to encompass a different area each day. And, the best part of this magnificent event is that there are no fees, because all of the open studios are free!
When is This Event?
For 16 days, from 28 April through 13 May, you can venture into the hearts and visionary minds of Western Australia’s established, and up and coming, creators, designers, and artists who are the life force of the Margaret River artist population. These crafts persons exemplify and highlight the colours, sounds, and natural wonders of Western Australian beauty, history, and resources in a manner that will spark your imagination, stir your senses, and remain forever in your heart and mind.
During these few days, you’ll have the rare opportunity to submerge yourself in the inspirational environment of our local handicraft stars, some of whom have their creations worn or on display in households and museums around the world. You’ll have the chance to smell the paints and other raw components, feel the fabrics, touch the metals and woods, hear the tools as they cut, drill, and polish the finished pieces, and see the artwork in the creative stages.
What Type of Artists are Featured?
The open studio event features artisans from a diverse range of hand crafts that utilise new supplies as well as natural resources, to include outstanding objects made from recycled materials. We have painters, sculptors, photographers, wood workers, metal, glass and ceramic designers, print and fabric weavers, jewellery crafters, and mixed media creators.
You can choose to visit the open studios that highlight your favourite style of creations, your favourite form of artwork, or the studios of your favourite artists. Perhaps you are an admirer of our very own renowned landscape artisan, Douglas Kirsop, or you prefer the silver work of Nalda Hoskins, the textiles of Joann Taylor, the pottery of Myles Happ, the photography of Christian Fletcher, the woodwork of John Streater, or the old world metal work and furniture skills of John Miller. Whatever your goal and desire is, as it relates to the love of art, you’ll find it all here at the Margaret River Region Open Studios event.
Of course, being here in Margaret River means that you are also in the heart of Western Australia’s wine country, and wine making is also an art form. You might want to stop by a local vineyard to see the ins and outs of wine making, take advantage of the wine tasting, and even visit their cellar door to take away a bottle of your favourite wine. But, you don’t have to just visit, you can encourage our artists and enhance your personal art collection when you make a purchase or more while you are here.
The most convenient way to organise your open studio adventure is with the help of the Margaret River Region Open Studios Event Guide. The event guide has a full listing of programs, artists and their map locations, studio operating hours with any entrance notations such as those studios with appointment only requirements, parking availability, and if there are nearby public facilities and eating establishments. The majority of the artist studios are open during the daytime hours, but there are also a number of studios with evening hours. These flexible, open hours will let you visit even more local artists. The event guides are free and available at the visitors’ centers in Busselton and Margaret River. You can also download the event guide from their website here.
This unique behind the scenes peak into the imagination and genius of the creative mind at work is an outstanding adventure for the whole family. Children have an endless amount of imagination and your studio visit just might be the lynchpin for encouraging the next Picasso or Andy Warhol. But, our younger guests also like to be hands-on in a new environment.
The staff at Forest Rise wants your visit to the Open Studios event to be the most memorable experience ever, with the hope that this open studio event will become an annual holiday adventure for you also. If you should need any tips on how to find your studio destination, please ask.