Two long weekends of Open Studios :
24-26 MAY and 30 MAY-1 JUNE : 11am to 5pm daily

Cornwall Open Studios organisation

1. Introduction

Jeremy Sanders founded Cornwall Open Studios on 6th September 2024 by setting up a page on Instagram.

The positive support and rapid increase in the number of artist followers led to him investing in the building of a new website to underpin the resurrection of open studios in Cornwall after Creative Kernow’s withdrawal of support on 5th September.

Jeremy is determined to establish something lasting for artists and their communities in Cornwall. So he established Cornwall Open Studios as Limited Company 16011138 with any profits after necessary costs being retained for the benefit of Members.

It is Jeremy’s intention for Cornwall Open Studios Limited (COSL) to be converted into a Community Interest Company (CIC) in due course.

2. Organisation

The name of the company is Cornwall Open Studios Limited, referred to as COSL for short. Jeremy Sanders is its Director. The Core Team are recruited by Jeremy Sanders to help run COSL.

The annual showcase event is ‘Cornwall Open Studios’ or ‘COS’ for short. It takes place over the second May Bank Holiday weekend and the following long weekend. The three weekdays in between are optional for artists. But Members can say on their web pages if they’re available for visits by appointment.

The term ‘Member’ refers to those who have paid the annual subscription.

3. Objectives

The objectives of Cornwall Open Studios Limited (COSL) are:

  1. To enable Members to promote their work more effectively through combined financial resources.
  2. To promote the event to visitors through social media, PR, a brochure, and advertising.
  3. To host and maintain the COS website which Members can update at any time.
  4. To give something back to the community through a young artist mentoring scheme.

4. Membership eligibility

Membership is open to anyone:

  1. Whose home and studio have a Cornish postcode.
  2. Is a serious practitioner in the fine or applied arts.
  3. Is committed to the mutual nature of COSL
  4. Accepts the responsibilities of Membership.

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 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 his 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’.

5. Membership fees

  1. The Membership subscription is set by COSL and payable before 23 December each year.
  2. The 2025 subscription is £125 for Founder Members.
  3. If a Member doesn’t renew, their web page will be hidden until payment is received.
  4. After one year, if a web page is still hidden due to non-renewal, its contents will be deleted.

6. Membership benefits

  1. An editable personal webpage 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 to COSL. Any sales agreed are entirely between the Member and their buyer.
  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.

7. Membership responsibilities

  1. All Members must populate their webpage with good quality images of their work, and give useful information for visitors, include 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 whenever possible.
  4. Members contribute to the mutually beneficial promotion of COS s via their social media, website, and e-mail shots.
  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 public liability 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.

8. Finances

  1. COSL’s overall financial objective is to break even after all necessary costs involved in delivering the annual open studios event and making a small annual contribution to reserves.
  2. The sole purpose of building up the reserve is to help ensure that COSL is a resilient organisation and can continue to operate open studios through economic downturns.
  3. A business bank account has been set up at NatWest.
  4. All subscription payments are made online.
  5. All money raised by or on behalf of COSL is only to be used to further the objectives, as specified in item 3 above.
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