Preview: BV Studios: Open Studios 2018

Preparations are far advanced for the eighth annual Open Studios event at Bedminster artists’ studios complex BV Studios later this month.

“Most of the time we’re quietly working in our studios, making art or films or jewellery or carpets or other beautiful things,” explains artist and studio manager Penny Jones. “But once a year we throw open our doors and invite the public in to see what we’ve been doing.

“And it’s always a joy to see how much people get out of visiting us – spending hours strolling from studio to studio, lingering, fascinated by the work they see and the conversations they have with our artists and with other visitors.”

It all kicks off on Friday, April 20, with the studios open from 6pm to 9pm, followed by a party in the Entrance Hall with a pay bar and music. On the Saturday, April 21 and Sunday, April 22 the Studios are open from 11am through to 6pm. A cafe in the Entrance Hall will be serving hot food and snacks, all homemade, across the weekend.

BV Studios lies along the length of Philip Street in Bedminster, its entrance opposite Windmill Hill City Farm. Inside, over 120 artists have spaces of all shapes and sizes: up and down stairs, along corridors, in the basement. “And behind every door are amazing paintings, drawings, ceramics, wood and resin and paper sculptures, photography, films, glass, weaving, jewellery, printing and books to see,” Penny enthuses.

These are busy times at the Studios. Six BV artists and six German artists from Hanover are currently organising an Exchange project. Others are very active internationally, in exhibitions or artist’s residencies – Mariele Neudecker had a solo show in Portugal and shows in Madrid and Berlin, while Amanda Chambers has undertaken residencies in Japan and Norway, Kathy Hinde in Paris (and a research trip to Perth, Australia) and Penny Simons in Shanghai, China.

Amanda Chambers also won a year’s Arts Council Development funding, and Anne Deeming won a year’s funding from the Pollack Krasner Foundation in America, to support and develop their work.

And it’s not just visual art going on inside BV Studios: the site is home to a whole network of creative disciplines. Kathy Hinde won the Scottish Award for New Music and the British Composer Award by BASCA for outstanding Sonic Art. Bristol Braille Technology, who have developed Canute, a Braille ‘Kindle’, won AbilityNet’s Tech4Good Accessibility Award and are shortlisted for the National Inventor Prize to be announced in September.

Elsewhere, John Minton created the visuals for Noel Gallagher’s recent tour; Johnny O’Carroll runs an independent label, Rocket Recordings, out of his space; and Luella Wright has developed the Peg and Pog app to teach children to read in multiple languages.

“At one end of the building we have Hackspace, a social enterprise, which plays very seriously with technology, an exciting place of learning and exploration,” Penny continues. “At the other end, in the basement, is the pole-dancing studio, where the students show off their extraordinary agility throughout the weekend. There too is the green-screen film studio, where you can have fun in front of the camera. Simply too numerous to mention are the artists who have successfully entered competitions and had work shown across the country; many also teach in art schools near and far.”

A whole host of creativity, visual and beyond, awaits in a corner of BS3 this month…

Open Studios 2018 takes place from April 20-22 at BV Studios, Philip St, Bedminster. For more information, visit www.bvstudios.co.uk

Read more: Profile: YardArts