From Little Things Big Things Grow - Hebden Bridge artists opening their studios to the public

"Hebden Bridge Open Studios began almost two decades ago," explained Dorothy Simister, who has been helping organise HBOS since its inception. "Back then we were a tiny group of artists opening our studio doors - HBOS was a tiny seed of an idea coupled in with Hebden Bridge Arts Festival. Pretty quickly HBOS grew so large we had to separate from Hebden Bridge Arts."

"This year," Dorothy continued, "we are delighted to be back working with Hebden Bridge Arts (HBA). Hebden Bridge Open Studios will be running our usual fantastic three-day artist studio opening event and HBA is running a series of art events."

The theme for this year's Hebden Bridge Open Studios is 'from little things big things grow'

"We chose this theme because HBOS started out as such a tiny little venture way back in the early 2000s. We are delighted to have welcomed so many more participants to our event over the years, growing into the huge art event we are now," Dorothy said. "This theme also speaks to our reuniting with HBA - a merging of two great ideas, both started out as little seeds of thought and are now thriving, flourishing art events.”

Hebden Bridge Open Studios is one of the most highly regarded art and culture events in England. Over 100 artists will be opening their studio doors this July and, based on interest expressed via social media, a bigger visitor crowd than ever is expected. Studios will be open Friday July 5 until Sunday July 7.

"We love that we can offer people from all over a chance to meet our local artists, to see inside our studios, view works-in-progress and learn about different art techniques. We have such an interesting and varied art scene here in Hebden Bridge and we really love welcoming people into our studios," Sam Morton, local jeweller and HBOS organiser said.

"We urge all art lovers to get the dates for our HBOS summer event into their calendar and to start leafing through our flyer and visiting our website to decide which studios they'd most like to visit," Sam continued.

"We will also be running our super popular Window Art Trail - where we work with local shops and businesses who kindly feature artwork by participating artists in their windows. This has become a fantastic aspect of HBOS - it truly brings the whole village to life with art," Sam added.

Local artist and volunteer organiser Julia Ogden added, "Hebden Bridge is known for its thriving art community and open studios is a chance to see all those magical spaces where the work is made. We have art fairs too! HBOS is a must-do weekend for all art lovers."

For more information please visit our website:

https://hebdenbridgeopenstudios.org/