Step Inside

Apr 20
2 min read

Words by Jilly Easterby

An invitation to experience the cornucopia of colour and creativity that is Cornwall Open Studios 2026.

This May, 322 artists and makers will welcome visitors from across the county and beyond into their studios and workshops throughout Cornwall. During the nine-day event, creatives will showcase their skills, share their stories and illuminate artistic practice in its myriad forms.

The range of studios is as diverse as the landscape they inhabit; painters, potters, printmakers and photographers will join forces with carvers and calligraphers, felters and furniture-makers, sculptors and silversmiths, woodturners and weavers to provide a plethora of visual perspectives. Every artist offers a unique response to the interplay between land, sea, sky and the ever-changing palette of the seasons, capturing the essence of Cornwall’s wild beauty and the place they call home.

As each door opens, visitors will experience the effects of materials being moulded and manipulated, stitched and scorched, etched, stretched and fused. Oils, cold wax and charcoal; slips, glazes and oxides; soda-fired porcelain and wheel-thrown clay; hand-spun yarn and locally-sourced hardwood all serve to extend the frontiers of artistic alchemy and perhaps challenge traditional concepts of what art and craft should be.

Whether you lean into the abstract or the figurative, or prefer the decorative to the digital, Cornwall Open Studios offers a rare, behind-the-scenes glimpse of Cornish creativity in all its guises as well as the opportunity to purchase original artwork at source.

Cornwall's scenery and quality of light has long captivated creative minds and Cornwall Open Studios celebrates this rich cultural heritage. It also provides year-round support for artists and makers, and aims to enrich all those who participate in this annual event.

Cornwall Open Studios 2026 runs from Saturday 23rd to Sunday 31st May. Personalised art trails can be created by using the Cornwall Open Studios website, where artists can be searched by location, discipline or number of opening days. A printed guide to aid the exploration of studios and workshops throughout the county is also widely available.

cornwallopenstudios.co.uk