All venues must be within the county boundaries of Derbyshire. Not all DE postcodes are in Derbyshire so this is not a reliable marker.
You have three options when deciding where to exhibit: your own home, studio or garden; an existing multi-artist venue; or you could set up a new multi-artist venue.
- When exhibiting in your own premises, you can be on your own or invite other artists to join you. One-artist or small venues do tend to attract a smaller footfall than the larger venues – but you can guarantee someone is visiting because they like your work. It will help if you do a lot of local publicity. You can order publicity materials from us (free of charge) in your application.
It’s up to you how you set out your exhibition, and you can open for longer than the stated three days if you want to – just make sure you mention this within your application. Also, please specify what disabled access there is – a choice of Yes, No or Partial, which covers that assistance is required.
Everything that happens at the venue is up to you – refreshments, music, help from family and friends or anything else you’d like. - Many venues around the county have been exhibiting for years. Some of these will be limited to members of a particular group, while others welcome new artists to join them. Once the application process is in full swing, venue organisers can contact us if they have spaces. We will then publicise these in regular newsletters – so make sure you’re signed up to receive our newsletter.
Once you’ve spotted a venue you would like to join, you contact the venue organiser and make all arrangements directly with them. There may well be a cost for the venue, that is shared between all those taking part.
We can also include your contact details in the newsletter so that venue organisers know you are looking for a space. - To set up a new multi-artist venue, first find your premises. This could be a village or church hall, community centre, pub or cafe, garden centre or anywhere else you think would work.
There is a new feature on our website for new venues, where you can fill in a form to give us all the relevant details. We will then add you to the list of venue organisers so that you get sent all the information you need.
We will help you advertise for more artists by including your information in our newsletter.
How you run your venue is up to you, as long as it is open on all three days of the event. The opening hours should be the standard 10.00-4.00 although you can open for longer if you wish e.g. till 5.00. A few venues that exhibit in churches do not open on Sunday mornings but as long as this is made clear in artists’ applications this is not a problem.
The choice of artists is also up to you. Some venues like to have artists all in the same genre, while others prefer a mix.
Refreshments are also up to you. Some venues sell them to offset costs while others raise money for local charities. At least one venue makes bringing a home-made cake part of the agreement with the artists.
You will need to communicate well with the artists about the venue, cost, set-up times, opening hours, disabled access, local publicity, public liability insurance etc.
If you have any queries please contact us on info@derbyshireopenarts.co.uk