Thinking of taking part in COS27?

We’re delighted to be making plans for the 15th edition of Cheltenham Open Studios, taking place from Saturday 5 – Sunday 13 June 2027.

Every two years, Cheltenham Open Studios brings artists, makers and visitors together across Cheltenham and the surrounding area, opening up studios, homes, galleries and shared spaces, and celebrating the wealth of creativity taking place locally.

We’d love you to be part of COS27.

Alongside the printed COS27 Guide, participating artists and venues will be promoted through the COS website and interactive map, social media, PR and associated events and exhibitions.

Registration for COS27 will be completed online. This document allows you to see the questions and information you’ll need before starting your online registration.

Registration deadline: Monday 22 February 2027.

The direct link to the COS27 online registration form will be available shortly. We’ll be in touch as soon as registration goes live.

Before starting the online registration form, please read through this guide and make sure you have the information you’ll need to hand. This includes details about your venue, opening hours, Guide listing and image, and whether you would like to take part in the Gardens Gallery Taster Exhibition and Small Artwork Fundraiser.

To participate in COS27, your venue must be within 20 miles of the centre of Cheltenham. Each participating artist is required to be a member of Cheltenham Open Studios and to register separately for the event.

Individual artists
COS annual membership: £60
COS27 individual registration: £60 (non-refundable)

Groups and organisations
Registered charities and existing groups: £180
For other group registrations, the fee will depend on the number of participating artists and the group set-up. Please contact Niki at niki@cheltenhamopenstudios.org.uk to discuss your registration.

COS membership also offers:

• A listing and personal profile in the COS online Artist Directory
• Free promotion through the COS online Calendar of Events
• Opportunities to connect, collaborate and network with other artists

Membership runs until 30 September 2027.

Cheltenham Open Studios is a self-funded event, with membership and registration fees helping us to produce and promote COS27.

We plan to produce 10,000 copies of the COS27 Guide, alongside:

• Marketing materials for participating venues
• Posters and promotion across Cheltenham
• Local media and PR
• Individual artist listings online and in the printed Guide
• Website and social media promotion
• The COS27 launch

COS27 is open to artists and makers exhibiting within 20 miles of the centre of Cheltenham.

• From your own studio or home
• As a guest artist at another venue
• As part of a group or collective
• At a shared COS venue

If you do not currently have a venue, you can indicate this when you register. We encourage artists, as a first option, to collaborate independently with other artists and find shared spaces to exhibit. Where possible, we will also try to connect artists with available spaces, although a venue cannot be guaranteed.

If you have space at your venue and would be happy to host another participating artist, working in either 2D or 3D, please let us know when you register.

Creating a cluster

Clusters of nearby venues work really well during Open Studios, making it easier for visitors to explore several artists in one area and helping to increase footfall for everyone.

Have a look at who is around you and consider talking to neighbouring artists, makers and venues about taking part. You might be able to create a small local cluster, share a venue or simply coordinate your opening hours and help promote each other.

Venues beyond the town centre

Visitor numbers can vary across the COS trail, and venues outside the town centre or away from established clusters may experience different levels of footfall.

Taking part in Open Studios is about more than visitor numbers on the day. COS27 gives you a deadline and focus to prepare and present your work, the opportunity to promote your practice as part of a much larger event, and the support of an established platform and audience.

Being part of COS27 also gives you the opportunity to invite your own contacts, clients and supporters to your studio, while benefiting from the wider COS Guide, website, social media, PR and established mailing list encouraging visitors to explore the trail.

We encourage artists outside the centre to think creatively about local collaborations, clusters and promotion, giving visitors more reasons to make the journey and discover what is happening in their area.

Feedback from previous Open Studios shows that simple and consistent opening hours make a real difference to the visitor experience, particularly when people are planning to visit several venues in the same area.

We encourage venues to open 10am–4pm each day where possible. If you are opening in the evening, we suggest 7–9pm, or staying open through into the early evening.

As a minimum, we ask that all venues are open 11am–4pm on both Saturdays and Sundays during COS27.

If there are other COS27 venues nearby, please try to coordinate your opening hours. This makes it easier for visitors to plan their trail and helps encourage footfall across neighbouring venues.

Your listing in the COS27 Guide and online will help visitors discover your work and plan which studios and venues to visit. Please make your information clear, concise and engaging.

Your Guide image

Your image is the window into your venue and one of the first things visitors will see when deciding which studios and venues to visit. Your Guide listing should showcase your work at its very best and give visitors a strong sense of what they can expect to discover.

Please choose a high-quality, engaging image that represents your work well. Think carefully about your selection – a great image can make your listing stand out and encourage visitors to add your venue to their trail.

• One high-quality JPEG image of your work, suitable for inclusion in the COS27 Guide.
• Permission for COS to use your submitted image to promote COS27, including in the Guide, on the website, social media and in press and publicity.

Following the success of our previous taster exhibitions, we will once again create an inclusive COS27 Taster Exhibition at Gardens Gallery, giving participating venues the opportunity to have a presence in a central Cheltenham exhibition and the first venue on the trail.

Designed to offer visitors a taste of the breadth of work across COS27, the exhibition will also signpost visitors to artists’ main studios and venues across the trail. Our priority is to ensure that every participating COS27 venue is represented by at least one piece of work.

Where space allows, we will then invite additional participating artists to exhibit, so that as many COS27 artists as possible can be represented.

Exhibition dates: 4–13 June 2027.

Criteria for taking part:

• Participation fee: £10 per piece
• 2D work: 12 × 12 inches (30 × 30 cm) overall, including the frame
• 3D work: must fit within a 30 cm cube
• Work may be offered for sale at a price set by the artist, with the full sale price going directly to the artist
• All work will remain on display for the duration of the exhibition, even if sold, continuing to act as a signpost to your COS27 venue
• Once all participating venues have been accommodated, and where space allows, artists may be invited to submit an additional piece for an additional £10 fee

Artists taking part in the Gardens Gallery exhibition will be asked to undertake one stewarding slot of approximately 2–3 hours during the exhibition. A stewarding rota will be sent out once registrations have been confirmed.

We will once again be running our popular Small Artwork Fundraiser, helping to raise vital funds to support Cheltenham Open Studios.

All participating artists are encouraged to donate at least one small original artwork (5 inches square), which will be sold for £10, with all proceeds going directly towards supporting COS.

The artworks will be available to buy at the COS27 launch, giving visitors the opportunity to take home an original piece of art while supporting the event. Any works remaining after the launch will be displayed and available to buy at designated venues across the COS27 trail.

The online registration form will ask you for the following information. We recommend having this ready before you begin:

• Your name and contact details
• Your artist or studio name, where applicable
• Your artistic medium – a single word where possible
• A short description of your work for the Guide
• Whether you already have a venue arranged
• Your venue details, including address and contact information
• Whether your venue can offer space to another artist
• Your proposed opening days and times
• A short description or directions to help visitors find your venue
• Wheelchair accessibility information
• One high-quality JPEG image of your work for the Guide
• Permission for COS to use your submitted image for COS27 publicity
• Whether you would like to take part in the Gardens Gallery Taster Exhibition
• Whether you intend to contribute to the Small Artwork Fundraiser

If you are registering a group or organisation, you will also be asked for your group name, main contact, participating artists and venue details. Please make sure you have this information ready before beginning your registration.

The link to register online for COS27 will be sent out shortly.

In the meantime, please read through this Guide and start thinking about how you would like to participate in COS27, including your venue, opening hours, Guide listing and image, and whether you would like to take part in the Gardens Gallery Taster Exhibition and Small Artwork Fundraiser.

Once you have registered, we will send further information about Venue Packs, Guides, posters, the Small Artwork Fundraiser and Gardens Gallery stewarding arrangements.

If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact Niki Whitfield at niki@cheltenhamopenstudios.org.uk.