If selected, you will be part of a group of exhibiting artists, within Ayrshire.  Annually the OSA art trail attracts a massive public spend of around £40k.

OSA artists meet to support each other and learn from key speakers. OSA Artists attend an OSA Launch on a date and at a venue to be arranged.  This is where you will receive promotional materials including a banner and high quality brochures.  Here you will interact with your guests and with the public, helping them plan their art trail.

There may also be further opportunities to exhibit here.  This event helps you promote yourself within the OSA art trail before the main event, so there will be lots of photos to add to social media and news articles attracting the interest of art lovers in Ayrshire. If you don’t have a studio, we have several spaces which can be applied for, however these may incur a shared cost between yourself and other participating artists and some may charge a percentage commission.  Some of our OSA artists share a space within a studio.  

To encourage the development of a personal studio we encourage people without their own space to create works within the venue that they are intending to use during the OSA art trail. Many of our artists sell very well from their own studio and benefit from return visitors throughout the year.

Some of our artists have exhibited for a number of  years and have a wealth of knowledge to share and help your practice grow. We are also supported in various ways by local councils too, South and East Ayrshire Councils have previously contributed funds and organisation to running a trail bus to rural OSA venues.

It is very important to communicate via: Facebook or email – enquiries@openstudiosayrshire.com OSA is run by volunteers, who need you to respond quickly in order to ensure events are organised smoothly.

We need your enthusiasm so we can share this event with the public via: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other platform you use. We would appreciate posts about OSA sent via Facebook being shared with your network. If we all do this the response can be huge.

Please draw attention to our website as this showcases your work and the level of artistic ability within the group you belong to and have been selected to join. Please select really good quality photos of the images you want to use to promote yourself. Many works shown in the brochure and website sell very well! If sold, don’t forget to offer new images for the following year!

Attract prospective customers to your venue during the OSA event. Use good quality, easily read signs and blue balloons to direct the public to your venue. Banners are handed out at the launch, hang them at least a week before the OSA Event. Adapt the wording to say that your venue will be open soon, or put the dates of the event on top of the text which says TODAY.

The banner needs to be returned after the event please. Leaflets are high quality and need distributing to interested parties.

Please engage the public in conversation about OSA before handing the brochures out.

We are looking for sponsorship from local businesses, so forward your ideas to enquiries@openstudiosayrshire.com

Please do not try to acquire a venue on behalf of OSA, please talk to the Committee/ Chair via enquiries@openstudiosayrshire.com about any venue suggestions.