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EVALUATION OF

WORCESTERSHIRE OPEN STUDIOS 2015

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Background

The Worcestershire Open Studios 2015 was held across the August Bank Holiday

weekend; 29th, 30th, 31st August. 27 locations were open, showing the work of over

70 artists. These comprised a mix of artists’ studios and homes, shared spaces and a

couple of established galleries.

An Open Studios website was created and each artist was profiled, with a link to

their own web presence. Interactive maps of the studios’ locations were an added

benefit for visitors.

7000, copies of a 16 page colour brochure, detailing the artists, was created. It was

distributed through an agency to key arts and tourist venues throughout the county

and elsewhere by the organisers and the individual artists.

The artists were supported prior and during the event by the availability of a

workshop on preparing for Open Studios; regular information updates through Mail

chimp newsletters; a joint exhibition; a launch; and support contacts throughout the

weekend.

Open Studios was promoted heavily through a broad media and PR campaign to

the local and regional arts and press publications, plus postings on local and

national ‘what’s on’ listings and social media. 1(A full marketing and publicity

summary can be found in the appendix). Artists also promoted it in their own locality

and through their own contacts. Bevere Gallery promoted it through their client list

and were also one of the 7 ‘ambassador cafes’ around the county. These cafes

were given complementary advertising in exchange for prominent positioning of the

advertising literature and brochure.

Funding for the event was sourced through grants received from Worcestershire

County Council, Worcester City Council, The Elmley Foundation, advertisers, sponsors

and artists’ registration fees.

All 27 venues were asked to complete an evaluation2 and 17 responses were

received.

Findings

1. Why the artist took part and what they hoped to gain from participating

The following themes emerged from this question:

The desire to support an art promotion/event in the area and raise the

profile of visual arts in the county

Involvement with the community, other artists and those interested in

visual art

1 Appendix a 2 Appendix b

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Future co-operation and networking with other artists

To show their working premises and practices to others

To show their work to the others for:

o Increased profile as an artist

o Sales

o To broaden their own experience

o Increased confidence

2. The number of visits each day

Table A, below shows the total number of visits3 to the 27 venues each day

and the total across the event. Visit numbers, over the 3 days, varied across

the studios with the lowest recorded number being 20 and the highest being

109. The average number of visits per venue across the event was 44. If it is

estimated that each visitor visited 3 venues, then approximately 424 people

visited the Open Studios.

Table A

Days Numbers

Saturday 442

Sunday 387

Monday 443

Total visits 1272

To encourage visitors to visit a number of studios an incentive was introduced.

At the first studio, visitors were give a postcard with a ‘smiley face’ sticker on,

they then received a sticker at each subsequent studio visited. On collecting

five stickers they were entered into a prize draw for a piece of art work. A

total of 40 visitors qualified for this draw.

3. The main areas where visitors came from

The main area, not surprisingly, was Worcestershire and it was pleasing to see

that these visitors were not just from the locality of the open studios

themselves. In addition to the expected visitors from Worcester, Malvern,

Leigh Sinton, Pershore and Evesham others came from Redditch, Ledbury,

Colwall, and Elmley Lovett.

Visitors also came from beyond the county including Birmingham,

Stourbridge, Tewkesbury, Stroud, Gloucester, Oxford, London and Australia.

3 The term ‘visits’ is used as many visitors called at more than one venue.

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4. The proportion of visitors known to the artists

Artists were asked to estimate the proportion of their visitors that were known

to them. On average the artists knew 24% of their visitors, therefore 76% of

visitors were new to them.

5. The main ways the visitors heard about Open Studios

Table B, below, outlines how visitors knew about Open Studios.

Table B

How they knew Action taken

Personal invites Artists emailing their contacts and

posting bespoke postcards locally

Word of mouth During the Open Studios, participating

artists referred visitors on to other artists.

Students of art classes were told by the

tutors

South Worcestershire College

promoted it during the Summer School

Facebook The Open Studio Facebook page was

regularly updated up to and during the

event

The website Visitors direct access and visited via,

‘Visit Worcestershire’ and the Worcester

Festival information

Flyers and the brochure From distribution outlets, those

mentioned being a TIC, Bevere Gallery,

Ginger Pig, Blue Ginger Gallery, and

PSW

Newspaper articles in Worcester,

Malvern, Evesham and Redditch

papers

PR and media campaign

Local art events Amnesty Exhibition

West Malvern Arts Trail

6. The number of sales made and the economic benefit for the county

There were a pleasing number of sales made, as described in Table C below.

Cards made up the majority of sales, followed by original pieces of work.

Artists also sold ‘other’ items such as books, jewellery, and workshop places.

Whilst artists were not asked their income from sales, an estimation has been

made based on the types of sales and this can also be found in Table C.

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Table C

Item Number Estimated average

sale price

Estimated income

from sales

Cards 467 £2 £ 934

Prints 23 £20 £ 460

Original pieces 75 £100 £7,500

Other 32 £20 £ 640£9,534 Total 597

In addition to the estimated spend of £9,534 at the venues, visitors would also

have visited tea rooms, restaurants and bought petrol etc. Based on an

average spend of £6 per head by the 424 visitors, it is suggested that a

further £2,544 was spent during the Open weekend resulting in a total of

£12,078 being contributed to the local economy.

7. The event in terms of duration, time of year and future participation

The majority of respondents to the evaluation thought that the duration of the

event was ‘just right’. One thought it was ‘too long’ and another that it was

‘too short’.

Similarly, the majority wanted the Open Studio to take place at the same time

of year.

Pleasingly, the majority of artists said they were ‘very likely’ to take part again.

8. What worked well for artists about Worcestershire Open Studios

The themes identified were the:

Image created for Open Studios, e.g. the logo and the website

Marketing materials, particularly the postcard and brochure

Support to the artists, e.g. the workshop, information given and support

from the central team

Overall positivity

Event organisation

Meeting of people interested in art

Publicity/press releases

Being part of the Worcester Festival and Bank Holiday weekend

Prize draw

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9. What did not work as well and what would people change

Fewer respondents completed these two sections and when they did it was

to comment on the number of visitors (1 person); needing more knowledge

about the prize draw; the desire for less postcards and more brochures and

the suggestion by two that the brochure needed more colour. One felt that

the launch needed more general public present and one felt that direction

and signage could be improved.

10. The benefits artists got from participating in the event

Many benefits of participation were identified, the main one being the

pleasure of meeting new people. One artist said:

‘It was great to have so many visitors to show off my stuff to and to very

interested people’

Meeting new people gave the artists the opportunity to:

Introduce their work to a new audience, thereby increasing their

exposure

Receive feedback from strangers on their work

Have the pleasure of meeting people interested in art

Meet new people from their local community

Increase their self confidence in themselves and their work

Increase their mailing lists

Sell their work

Gain potential commissions/teaching opportunities

Respondents also cited meeting other artists and being part of a network of

local artist as another key benefit.

Artists reported that it was very clear visitors were having an enjoyable time:

‘Everyone was positive about the studios they had visited. They really

enjoyed the ethos of seeing artists at work. They didn’t want the

weekend to end’!

11. Other feedback

Respondents were given the chance to give any other feedback and those

that did offered:

Recommendations on the signage.

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Disappointment in the work of the Tourist Information Centre and

Destination Worcestershire, believing they should proactively promote

events receiving local authority funding.

Requests that the links and interconnectedness made between the artists

during the weekend could be built on:

‘….other ideas that we can do collectively with interested artists’

‘I hope it brings artists in the county together and starts a series of art

events (curated exhibitions) in the future and not just related to the

Open’

A wish for the event to grow and have a larger profile:

‘The general ‘face’ of the Open Studios deserves to have a

higher profile…. Put the opening collective exhibition in a

central location and ….have someone on hand to guide visitors

to appropriate spots’

use the Worcester Festival experience to grow the event’

Congratulations, praise and thanks to the organisers, for example:

‘I would really like to thank you all for your hard work in organising the

event. I enjoyed the whole weekend a great deal’

‘well run, well promoted’.

‘thanks for organising the event…. It was a really good experience’

‘A big thank you for all your work. Well done’

12. Budget

The income for Open Studios comprised of artists and groups paying a fee of

£50 and galleries paying £80. In addition, sponsorship, advertising and grant

income was achieved. A summary of the income and expenditure is found in

the following tables.

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Table D

INCOME £ Total

number of Artists 26

participation fee 50.00

participation

income 1,300.00

galleries 2

gallery fee 80.00

gallery income 160.00

Advertising

600.00

Donations

35.00

Grants

1,500.00

TOTAL INCOME

3,595.00

Table E

EXPENDITURE Total

brochure printing (7000) 1,327.00

brochure design 300.00

Website 40.00

Domain name 8.38

A6 cards, 5,000, A5 flyers 2,500, A4 posters

250 248.90

Smiley faces for prize draw 9.00

Containers for brochures in cafes 33.48

Direct Publicity for distribution 102.00

Roadside signage 3 /artist 317.16

Workshop catering 36.00

Launch drinks 64.26

Launch food 10.00

Expenses - travel etc 150.00

Total costs 2,606.18

Whilst Worcestershire Open Studios goes forward into 2016 with a balance of

£983, these figures also demonstrate that each venue was supported, on

average, by £35.10 achieved through means other than fees. For fees to

cover the cost completely, subscribers would have needed to pay £85.10.

13. Conclusion

This evaluation demonstrates that the artists’ hopes from participating in the

Open Studios were met. The profile of visual arts in the county was raised;

artists met artists and met the general public interested in art; a network of

artists, with the desire to remain connected, has been created; artists have

shown their working premises, practices and their work gaining both sales,

confidence and contacts. In addition the event stayed within budget and

4 There was no expenditure for the website as Enrich Designs donated time free of charge

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took forward a surplus to underpin the 2016 event. In all, Worcestershire Open

Studios has achieved the firm, grounded start that it set out to achieve.

In response to these findings, the date of the next Worcestershire Open

Studios has been decided as the August Bank Holiday 2016; a waiting list of

prospective applicants has been created. Work is in hand to offer

participating artists the facility to advertise their future events on the Open

Studios website so that the collective of artists becomes more than a single

open studio event.

These findings will inform the review of existing processes and materials as

preparations are made for Worcestershire Open Studios 2016.

Finally, this evaluation demonstrates that Open Studios has contributed to the

county’s and city’s plans and strategies by increasing the cultural amenities

of Worcestershire; enhancing the Worcester Festival experience; enhancing

tourists’ experience; contributing to the local economy by supporting artists;

and providing a contribution to the local economy through visitors using local

amenities.

Report written for Worcestershire Open Studios by Sally Morgan 01905 454259 /

07796 181276 email: sally@sallyannemorgan.co.uk

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1

Worcestershire Open Studios 2015 - Artists’ evaluation

Thank you for participating in the 2015 Worcestershire Open Studios. We hope it’s been a

positive experience for you and you’ve enjoyed sharing your artwork with lots of visitors over

the bank holiday weekend.

To help us evaluate the event, learn form it and plan future open studio events, please tell us

how it was for you by filling in this short questionnaire. The information WILL BE CONFIDENTIAL

Please return it by email or post to Sally Anne Morgan at 18 Elizabeth Ave, Worcester, WR3

7HQ by 12 September. Many thanks. If you need more space, the boxes will expand as you

type into them.

Artist/group name:

1. Why did you take part in Worcestershire Open Studios and what did you hope to gain from

participating?

2. How many visitors did you get each day?

Saturday

Sunday Monday

3. Where were the main areas your visitors came from? (e.g. Worcestershire, Herefordshire,

Birmingham, London)

4. Approximately what proportion of your visitors did you already know?

5. What were the main ways your visitors heard about open studios? (e.g. personal invite, leaflet or

flyer, website, social media, local newspaper, magazine article)

6. How many sales did you make of each of the following?

Cards

Prints

Original artwork

Other

7. What did you think about the duration of the event (three days)?

Too long

About right Too short

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8. Thinking about all aspects of Worcestershire Open Studios as a whole, what do you think worked

well?

9. Thinking about all aspects of Worcestershire Open Studios as a whole, what didn’t work so well?

10. What, if anything, would you change about the event in the future?

11. What benefits did you get from participating in Worcestershire Open Studios?

12. How likely are you to take part in Worcestershire Open Studios again?

Very likely Likely Not likely Not at all likely Don’t know

13. If you are interested in taking part in future, which times of year would be best for you?

First May bank

holiday w/e

Second May bank

holiday w/e

August bank

holiday w/e

September October

14. Do you have any other feedback you want to give us?

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Appendix 2

Marketing and publicity summary

In the run up to Worcestershire Open Studios there were over 50 mentions of the

event in print and online. This breaks down as follows:

Magazine articles: 10

City Life magazine, Edge Magazine (online), All About Worcester (July + Aug), All

About Malvern, The Worcestershire Grapevine, Artefacts, Slap Magazine (Aug +

Oct), Worcestershire NOW

Reach: Approximately 105,500

Newspaper articles (print and online): 18 +

Worcestershire Open Studios was featured in the Worcester News, Malvern Gazette,

Droitwich Spa Advertiser, Tewkesbury Admag, Redditch & Alcester Advertiser,

Hereford Times, Evesham Observer, Evesham Journal, Ledbury Reporter

Reach (print + online): Approximately 365,964

Websites and What’s On Listings: 20 +

Local: Worcester Festival 2015, All About Worcester, Destination Worcestershire,

Worcester News, Worcestershire Now, Gloucestershire Echo, Malvern Trail, All about

Malvern Hills, Pershore Arts News, Eckington village website and several artist’s

personal websites

Regional and national: Arts News, Turning Point West Midlands, Line-up, Where can

we go, Skiddle, a-n The Artists Information Company, Open Studio Communications,

Programmes and newsletters: 6

Worcester Festival programme, Wychavon Artworks e-news, ASPIRE – Wychavon

District Council staff newsletter, North Claines Parish Council’s Parish Focus

newsletter, Upton News, Worcestershire Camera Club news

Social media:

Worcestershire Open Studios – frequent Facebook and Twitter posts

Worcester City Council and Wychavon District Council – Facebook and Twitter

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The Worcestershire Grapevine

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Worcestershire NOW magazine: August edition

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Slap magazine: August edition

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Worcester News: online

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Evesham Observer: online