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Who can take part in Cornwall Open Studios?

Membership eligibility

Membership is open to anyone:

• Whose home and studio have a Cornish postcode - see below.
• Is a serious practitioner in the fine or applied arts.
• Is committed to the mutual nature of COSL.
• Accepts the responsibilities of Membership.
• Agrees to open their studio from 11am to 5pm over the second May Bank Holiday weekend and the following long weekend. The three weekdays in between are optional for artists. But they should say on their web pages if they’re available for visits by appointment.
• Meets the deadline for registration and payment by 6pm on Friday 17th January 2025.
• Provides the key image of their work and text for entry in the brochure by 6pm Friday 24 January 2025.
• Populates their web page by 6pm Friday 31 January 2025.

Membership is not open to anyone who:

1. Lives/works outside the Cornish post codes area.
2. Wishes to exhibit in a studio complex located within our defined area, where other artists work, but without having come to a fair arrangement with COS. This arrangement needs to prevent other non-paying artists or commercial enterprises benefiting from the free footfall generated by our publicity.
3. Outsources the manufacture of their work to third parties. Thus, the exhibition of factory/mass- produced items such as textiles, jewellery, and pottery are excluded. We allow works on paper such as limited editions which are produced by specialist printers. And there are sculptors who employ foundries to produce their casts and editions.

The Director, in consultation with the Core Team, will adjudicate on ‘grey areas’ in preserving the ethos of ‘work created by artists / makers in Cornwall’ and ‘viewed in the place it was made’.

The Cornwall postcodes are listed below, showing which COS area they belong to.

*part only

Membership fees

The Membership subscription is set by COSL and payable before 23 December each year.

The 2025 subscription is £125 for those who register and pay before 23 December 2024.

If a Member doesn’t renew, their web page will be hidden until payment is received.

After one year, if a web page is still hidden due to non-renewal, its contents will be deleted.

Membership benefits

1. A self-editable personal page on the COS website with up to 60 images, which is available for public viewing 365 days a year.
2. Participation in the annual open studios event with no commission payable. Any sales agreed are entirely between the Member and their buyer. COSL accepts no liability arising from these sales.
3. Inclusion in social media promotion year-round, as well as in the open studios campaign itself.
4. Inclusion in the printed brochure promoting COS.
5. Collective promotion in online and offline media advertising and via public relations.
6. Opportunity to participate in the young artist mentoring scheme due to be developed during 2025 and launched for COS 2026.


Membership responsibilities

1. All Members must populate their webpage with good quality images of their work, and give useful information for visitors, including a headshot, biography, and links to social media and their website if they have one.
2. Online-only participation is not permitted.
3. Members must participate in the annual open studios event.
4. Members contribute to the mutually beneficial promotion of COS s via their social media, website, and e-mail newsletters.
5. Members may not exhibit non-Member’s work on their webpage or at COS.
6. Members may collaborate with other COS Members and show their joint work at open studios, but may not exhibit any work made in collaboration with non-Members either on their artist web page or at their open studio.
7. Members must make sure they are open for the publicised times. Visitors come to see the artist and their work, and it reflects badly on the event if the Member isn’t there to welcome them. There may be occasions when the Member needs to go out, but someone else must be present so visitors don’t have a wasted journey.
8. Members must have current public liability insurance. See: https://www.a-n.co.uk/about/insurance/
9. Members must provide a high-resolution image for the brochure.
10. Members must participate in the distribution of brochures in their local area.
11. Members must participate in the placement and removal of posters in their area.
12. COSL and its Members do not discriminate on the grounds of sex, race (including colour, ethnic or national origin), sexual orientation, disability, gender reassignment, religious or political belief, pregnancy or maternity, marital status, or age.

‘Free rider’ policy

There are situations in which artists and makers rent studio spaces in a building where:

1. Other artists in the studio complex do not wish to join COS.
2. Other artist tenants in the building have small retail stalls or shelves as opposed to studios and/or there’s a cafe, bar, restaurant or shop.

In each of these cases a ‘free rider’ problem arises which is unfair on the paying members of COS.

The third parties, whether non-member artists, stallholders, retailers, or venue landlords, benefit free of charge from the additional footfall which has been generated by the publicity paid for by COS member subscriptions. 

1. Studio complex

COS would like to enable artists/makers who are renting studios in studio complexes to become members.

To avoid the unfair ‘free rider’ problem all the artists/makers should become members with their individual pages of the website, space in the brochure, and inclusion in the social media support and other media as appropriate.

COS accepts that, despite best efforts, we may not achieve 100% membership within studio complexes in our first year.

However, depending on the number of ‘free riders’ in 2025, COS reserves the right to review this policy for 2026.

2. Studio in building with other artist tenants/retailers

If a member’s space is in a building there are other commercial tenants, then the owner/landlord would need to take an advertisement for their property in the brochure.

The space/amount paid would relate to their monthly rental income. By negotiation they would take either a quarter, half, or whole page colour ad.

The fairness principle is that each property advertiser would pay £150 (i.e. £25 more than the COS membership fee of £125) for their ad space to promote their venue brand.

Plus 1/3 of the membership fee i.e. £42 per tenant (to be negotiated depending on rental).

For example, a mixed-use premises with 20 stallholders would take a whole page colour ad costing £150 + 20 x £42 = £990.

COS accepts that, despite best efforts, we may not achieve 100% compliance in our first year.

Depending on the number of ‘free riders’ in 2025, COS reserves the right to review this policy for 2026.

"Morning Jeremy, have started to upload things onto my page on the COS website, just wanted to say how professional and user friendly it is, amazing job, a big thank you to you all."

Hani Mroz

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