Hamptons International’s sponsor Brighton Artists’ Open Houses Festival

For the third year in a row, Hamptons International in Hove was proud to sponsor Brighton’s Artists’ Open Houses Festival. The free event, which took place throughout every weekend in May, was a celebration of local contemporary and traditional artists and makers, who opened their homes to the general public to view and purchase their artwork and crafts.

Over 1,000 participants took part this year, of all ages and stages in their artistic career and from all parts of the city. Jewellery, ceramics and textiles as well as painting, sculpture, printmaking and photography were all on display, giving visitors the chance to see the private studios and workspace of the creative community in Brighton, where they were also able to purchase their wares. For visitors who were feeling particularly creative and inspired by the event, a number of artists organised workshops and demonstrations at their home for visitors to learn the expertise associated with practices that included sculpture, screen printing, drawing and stencil art, as well as children’s crafts and workshops for young ones.

Of the 200 artists’ venues that were located on the 13 Open House Trails, Hamptons offered to place a Hamptons board outside the first 25 participating venues to come forward, in order to draw passersby into the home to view their artwork. Some of the most exciting work from this year’s open house artists included the curated open submission exhibition: Translations, in the extraordinary drawing room, upstairs at The Regency Town House at Brunswick Square.

The festival saw a fantastic turnout across all four weekends, with people travelling far and wide to visit the diverse and vibrant artistic community of Brighton and Hove.

Hamptons’ lettings manager for Hove, Paul Hawes, commented on the event: “We are delighted to have sponsored Brighton Artists’ Open Houses Festival in what has proved to be a fantastic showcase of the artistic talent within our wider community. The private homes of local artists are otherwise hidden to the public, and we are proud to have been part of a festival which celebrates Brighton’s creative roots.”

For the first time in its 30 year plus history, the AOH Young Artists Project was piloted in six venues, where young artists both exhibited their work and developed useful learning skills for the future. The project aims to assist those who face barriers which prevent them from taking their professional work forward. One of the artists who took part has since secured employment at Ditchling Museum of Art & Craft where she will be organising workshops and exhibiting her artwork. With future plans to assist graduates at Brighton University, it is hoped that the next festival will open doors for more emerging young talent in the city.

Judy Stevens, director of Brighton Artists’ Open Houses Festival commented: “We are delighted to have Hamptons International on board as a sponsor for the third year running. Our aim has always been to promote the artistic talents of some of Brighton’s native talent, and since conception we have grown from 1 to over 1,000 participating artists. We look forward to continuing to welcome visitors to the second of the biannual Brighton Artists’ Open Houses Festival, in December.”