Open studio events in Birmingham

See the work where it is made

Open studio events are one of the best ways to understand local art.

A gallery shows the finished version. An open studio shows a more intimate context.

You see the tools, unfinished pieces, sketches, materials and experiments that lead the final work. For collectors, that can be more interesting than a polished exhibition.

Birmingham Open Studios is the city’s main open studio event. It allows artists and craftspeople to show work from their homes, studios and other venues, and the organisers state that 170 participants exhibited across 86 locations in 2025. The 2026 event is listed for 26–27 September and 3–4 October, 11am–5pm.

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What to expect as a visitor

For visitors, the format is simple. You get a map of all studios taking part, each with their location (they have an app too!).

You choose an area, follow the trail, meet artists, ask questions and enjoy the work in person.

Some artists will have finished pieces for sale. Others may show works in progress, prints, studies, materials or examples of previous collections.

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The benefit for collectors is direct access

You can ask how a piece was made, what materials were used, whether commissions are possible, and how the artist sees the work developing. These are conversations that rarely happen in the same way through large online marketplaces.

Open studios also reveal the variety of Birmingham’s creative scene. Painters, printmakers, ceramicists, jewellers, photographers, textile artists, sculptors and mixed-media artists often appear side by side. That shows the city’s wider culture of making rather than a narrow definition of fine art.

David Roman is taking part in Birmingham Open Studios in September 2026, opening a direct route for collectors to see the work in its making context.

For anyone interested in original Birmingham art, events like this are one of the most useful ways to move beyond browsing and begin understanding the practice behind the object.