THE FACTS AbouT THE moST SuCCESSFul ConTEmporAry viSuAl ArT & CrAFT opEn STudioS EvEnT in SCoTlAnd 2014 Edition

Spring Fling is recognised as one of the most successful quality contemporary art and craft open studios events in the UK.For three days each spring professional artists, designers and makers open the doors to their studios welcoming the public to purchase their work, commission artworks, watch demonstrations and have a go at making and creating.

In 2014 we had our biggest event yet, with not only the largest number of artists participating, but also the highest number of visits in our 12-year history.

Two additional programmes, national exhibitions in Glasgow, Newcastle and London and Spring Fling Rural Mural (SFRM), also achieved great success and attracted more visitors to the main event.

We would like to thank our artists, partners and funders, for helping to make another brilliant year.

AbouT SprinG FlinG

KEy FACTSAbouT THE 2014 EvEnT

» 40,338 visits made to 95 studios, an average of 429 visits per studio; » £251,316 spent in our artists’ studios, that’s £2,645 per studio; » Over half of our visitors came from outside of the region; » 99% of visitors thought we were 'Excellent’ or 'Good’, worthy of recommending and visiting again; » Our visitors spent £1,404,977 in total in the region; » 3 National Exhibitions with over 18,000 visitors and £10,000 in sales; » 13 Spring Fling Rural Murals visited by thousands and became landmarks; » Reported by BBC, ITV, The Times, The Herald, the Scotsman amongst other national media; » At least £174,107 PR value generated, reaching an audience of over 1 million.

in THE STudioS

AvErAGE ▲24%

£2,645SpEnT in EACH STudio. in ToTAl ovEr £250K SpEnT on ArT in 95 STudioS.▲27%

Spring Fling 2014 (23 -25 May) was our biggest event yet! Not only did we have the most studios taking part, we also had the highest number of visitors in our history.

£1.4 millionConTribuTEd To THE loCAl EConomy ovEr THE WEEKEnd

And THEy CAmE From 19 diFFErEnT CounTriES30% From ouT-SidE SCoTlAnd24% From rEST oF SCoTlAnd46% From d&G

13,446 viSiTorS mAdE

429viSiTS pEr STudioS

6 EXHibiTionS

13 ovEr18,000viSiTorS To our nATionAl EXHibiTionS

For the first time in 2014, in addition to exhibitions in Dumfries & Galloway, Spring Fling went national, presenting a selection of our artists’ work in high-quality venues in Glasgow, Newcastle and London. The exhibitions were a great success, with over 10% of the visitors to Spring Fling 2014 telling us that they had visited at least one of the national exhibitions.

£10,000 WorTH oF ArTWorK WAS SoldAT THE nATionAl EXHibiTionS.

I am a fourth generation dairy farmer and have farmed for twenty years, and realised that an area such as Dumfries & Galloway needs as much diversification & ‘thinking out of the box’ as it can get.

SFrm iS onE oF THE bEST yET!

- Kenneth A Campbell, Local Resident

SprinG FlinG rurAl murAlS

In a partnership with Glasgow-based urban art collective RECOAT, we developed Spring Fling Rural Mural (SFRM). Five Spring Fling artists were

paired with five RECOAT artists, painting 13 amazing murals on rural buildings and objects. The murals were widely enjoyed by both local

residents and visitors to the region.

37%OF OUR VISITORS VISITED AT LEAST ONE SFRM!

STronG mArKETinG & pr CAmpAiGnS

£174,107 pr vAluE GEnErATEdrEACHinG ovEr 1 million AudiEnCE

25,000 broCHurES28,000 mApS + 10,000 FlyErS

We continued to produce high-quality print and to extensively promote Spring Fling and its add on programmes.Specialised distribution services were used for Central Belt of Scotland, South Scotland, Cumbria, Northumberland and Tyne & Wear.

2013: 27,920 viSiTS

2014: 34,810 viSiTS ▲25%

2013: 1,164 liKES

2014: 1,534 liKES ▲32%

2013: 1,476 FolloWErS

2014: 2,024 FolloWErS ▲37%

our WEbSiTE & SoCiAl mEdiA ConTinuEd To GroW

SprinG-FlinG.Co.uK

Our PR team worked hard on the 2014 event. The 2014 event was covered widely by national media, specialist magazines and websites.

89 piECES oF CovErAGE on nATionAl Tv, rAdio, in prinT And onlinE.

40rElEASES SEnT

Join uSon our AdvEnTurES

rEASonS To bE pArT oF SprinG FlinG AS An ArTiST

I really enjoy being a part of such a high quality event. I do believe Spring Fling is the best Open Studios event in the country and I am proud to be a part of it. The year round support from Spring Fling is also excellent.

iT rEAlly doES GET bETTEr And bETTEr yEAr-by-yEAr.

- Clare Dawdry, Ceramicist

brilliAnT mArKETinG THE riGHT AudiEnCEBesides what you have read on the previous page, 96% of our artists and makers use the high-quality Spring Fling brochure for their own marketing throughout the year.

We keep a mailing list of over 6000 email and postal addresses.

Over 90% of Spring Fling visitors have a primary interest in art and craft and every year we attract a great number of new visitors with diverse interests.

We also have over 200 Spring Fling Friends who are our strong supporters.

yEAr round SupporT GrEAT opporTuniTiESAll year round, Spring Fling members* and their activities are promoted through our website, newsletters and social media networks. Spring Fling’s webshop and shop front on Culture Label create online selling platforms for artists.

Since 2011, Spring Fling has been developing its year round programme, providing paid opportunities for artists to work with young people and the wider community. Many of these opportunities are also open to artists not taking part in Spring Fling*.

*Once you have been in Spring Fling, you can stay as a Spring Fling Member in future years, even though you might not take part in the Spring Fling main event. More information on membership can be found: www.spring-fling.co.uk/blog/spring-fling-membership

2015 ArTiST AppliCATionS opEn 1 SEp - 10 oCT 2014

WE ArE AlSo inviTinG

SponSorSGAllErypArTnErS

vEnuES AdvErTiSErS

younG ArTiSTS / GrAduATES

SCHool lEAvErS

KEEp your EyES on SprinG-FlinG.Co.uK

loCAl buSinESSES

Contact: Leah Black, Spring Fling Open Studios CIC Directorleah@spring-fling.co.uk - 01387 213 218 - 07544 556 350 - www.spring-fling.co.uk

Gracefield Arts Centre, 28 Edinburgh Road, Dumfries, DG1 1JQ