This City Makes Art: Birmingham Open Studios Opens the Hidden Doors of Art in Our City

Birmingham Open Studios 2026 takes place across the city on 26-27 September and 3-4 October

Much of the art made in Birmingham happens behind closed studio doors. For two weekends every year, Birmingham Open Studios throws those doors wide open.

Now in its ninth year, Birmingham Open Studios (BOS) is the city’s biggest annual arts trail, bringing together artists, makers, studios, creative spaces, and art groups across Birmingham and the surrounding area. Thousands of visitors are invited to explore the places where art is actually made, meet the people behind it, and see the creative process up close.

This year’s event is the biggest event to date geographically, with artists taking part from Cradley Heath to Shirley, Erdington to Barnt Green, and everywhere in between.

From painting, jewellery and sculpture to glass, textiles, doll-making and traditional blacksmithing, the 2026 trail offers an extraordinary range of creative practices. Many participating artists will be demonstrating their work, offering visitors a rare opportunity to see techniques and processes that would normally remain behind closed doors.

But Birmingham Open Studios is about more than opening doors for the public. It is also about opening doors for artists.

BOS gives artists and makers a platform to showcase and sell their work, develop their creative businesses, learn professional and art-business skills, build networks and discover new opportunities. The artists and makers are the stars of the show.

Founder Owen de Visser says: “Birmingham Open Studios is about changing the way we see and experience art in our city. There are no red velvet ropes and no expectation that art can only be experienced in galleries or traditional exhibition spaces. We open the doors to the places where art is actually made, and we open doors for artists to develop their practices and businesses too.”

Local comedian and artist Joe Lycett is an ambassador for BOS, and says: "I've been a proud ambassador of Birmingham Open Studios for years now, and think it's a brilliant and unique way of seeing the incredible art our city has to offer. It's the best opportunity to nosey round people's studios, homes, print presses, sheds and more to see what incredible (and sometimes quite weird) things they've made. By supporting the art trail you're supporting local artists, so join me in grabbing a guidebook (or downloading their superb app!) and treat yourself to a gander at Birmingham's extraordinary talent."

This year, BOS is particularly proud to welcome more disabled artists and artists from low income households. Thanks to financial support from West Midlands Combined Authority, this funding helps artists who might otherwise have been unable to participate.

New artists taking part in 2026 will also have access to help from more experienced BOS artists through the ‘BOS Buddy Mentorship Scheme’. The Scheme helps support them as they navigate their first Open Studios experience and develop their professional practice.

The 2026 event also sees BOS continuing to expand the range of organisations and groups involved.

For the first time, educational facilities are participating in the trail, including a group exhibition courtesy of Coventry University Fine Art, and the Royal Photographic Society’s Central Region.

A refugee women’s craft group, Shelanu, will also be taking part, adding another perspective to the diverse creative community represented across this year’s trail.

Birmingham Open Studios has always aimed to make art more accessible - both to the people who make it, and the people who experience it.

Rather than art being something viewed at a distance in a museum or gallery, BOS offers an immersive experience: visitors can step through the doors, meet artists and makers, see demonstrations, ask questions, buy original work and experience the creative spaces in which Birmingham’s art is made.

For just two weekends, the city becomes a giant open studio. There are no red velvet ropes. Just doors waiting to be opened.

Birmingham Open Studios 2026 takes place on 26-27 September and 3-4 October

2026. 11am-5pm each day. Free and family-friendly to enjoy. Accessible studios listed via guidebook and app.

Please spread the word, grab a guidebook, download the free mobile app ‘Birmingham Open Studios’, and tell your friends and family. This is a unique event that is free to attend and suitable for all ages.