Artist registration Terms & Conditions

Chichester Open Studios – Art Trail

2026 Open Studios Key dates

Saturday 16th, Sunday 17th, Saturday 23th, Sunday 24th and Bank Holiday Monday 25th May

Studios are open from 10.30am – 5.00pm

• All Studios/Venues must be open and all artist to be present for the entirety of the opening hours. There is an option to be open or closed on the Bank Holiday Monday 25th May.

‘Snap-shot’ exhibition at the Oxmarket Contemporary 

14th – 26th April –  10:00am – 4:00pm

Private View, 14th April – 6pm-8pm

 

1.Who can take part?

Artists must be over 18 years old.

Chichester Open Studios is open to all artists and makers residing in the Chichester area who have their full or part-time art studio in the area. The Chichester area for this purpose is defined by the borders of the 2025 event map. To see these, please download the 2025 Guide or use the map via this link to our venues. If you live outside the Chichester area, you can still be considered if you have already arranged to share a venue with a local artist in Chichester. This is part of the Outside In initiative, which embraces diversity and fresh talent for the Art Trail.

2.What to exhibit and demonstrate?

Only your own original work or Editioned Fine Art prints of your work may be exhibited in a thoughtful and professional manner.

It is essential that each artist provides demonstrative evidence such as live demonstrations, showing a video of you at work, displaying a series of photos of your working process, explaining work in progress plus sketchbooks or visual inspiration.

NB you don’t have to do all of these but at least one is advised and the more exciting your Studio the more engaged your visitors will be.

3.I don’t have a venue.

Shared Venues.
If you are unable to open your own studio or home, you may still participate by joining other artists in their venues. A maximum of six artists may share per venue, unless it is a recognised studio group where each artist is registered individually. Studio complexes are not permitted to host additional guest artists.

These guidelines are in place to preserve the working studio atmosphere and ethos of Chichester Open Studios, while also supporting those who open their studios independently.

Artists who wish to share—or who can offer space for up to five other artists—may indicate this on the registration form. After registration, the COS team will help pair artists accordingly.

Whilst we are an ‘Open Studio’, we are very careful in all publicity, to refer to an artist’s ‘workspace’, ‘working environment’, ‘creative space’ or ‘Venue’. This is to infer that visitors may find an artist creating in all kinds of environment. It is often inspirational to a visitor to see that it is possible to create in a small area of a home and that an ‘all singing, all dancing’ studio is not always necessary!

4.Galleries

Galleries or art spaces promoting the work of other artists at the same time as our event, cannot participate.

5.Collection Day and other social events

It is essential that you are available to collect all necessary promotional materials for your studio—including signage, posters, and guides—on the designated day and time. TBC. If you are unable to attend, please arrange for someone to collect them on your behalf.

6.Oxmarket Contemporary ‘Snap-shot’ Exhibition

In April 2026, there will be a special exhibition for all COS26 participants. The ‘Snap-shot’ Exhibition offers every registered artist the opportunity to submit one representative artwork for sale (maximum size 100 x 100 cm), accompanied by a private viewing. When completing your registration, you will have the option to indicate if you wish to take part in this spring exhibition at the Oxmarket.

Further details will be shared after registration.

7.Artist Promotion & Marketing

• Each artist will have an entry in the Art Trail Guide; over 20,000 copies are printed and distributed to artists for wider circulation.

• Information from the registration form is uploaded to the COS website. Each artist will have their own webpage featuring:

  • Three images of artwork

  • One image of the artist working in their studio

  • Artist’s statement and description of work

  • Studio location and directions

• Images submitted for the COS Guide will also be used across COS social media channels to promote the event. Please ensure that all images submitted are of high quality

• All venues will be supplied with event signage to guide visitors. These, along with promotional materials, will be distributed on collection day.

• COS provides a wide range of promotional support, including social media platforms, artist interviews, website features, publicity and regular newsletters. Artists are encouraged to “share, tag, and repost” to maximise visibility.

• An optional additional fee (detailed in the registration form) will cover bunting, extra signage, and website advertising.

8.Newsletters

It is essential that all registered artists read and act upon the email newsletters titled Essential Information. These newsletters are the primary means by which important updates and instructions will be communicated.

9.Refunds

As in previous years, registration fees are non-refundable. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer refunds under any circumstances, as each payment covers the administrative costs of processing registrations and contributes to the wider organisation of the event. These costs are essential to ensuring that Chichester Open Studios is delivered to a professional standard and that participating artists are well promoted.

Please note: Amendments to registration details made after the deadline may be subject to an additional administrative fee.

10.Registration process:
Once you have submitted your registration, you will receive a confirmation containing payment details . If you require an invoice, these can be provided upon request, please contact us by email. info@chichesteropenstudios.org. When your registration has been processed and accepted, you will be issued with a Welcome Handbook containing all the key information you need to take part.

Complete the registration form