#15 Open Studios in the 1980s
50 stories from The Acme Archive
Artists in Acme Studios and Houses have been opening their studios to the public since the early 1980s. This story looks at three events between 1984 and 1987.
In 1984, artists at Robinson Road (which had opened in 1982) and Old Ford Road (which was open between 1983 and 1985) Studios in Bethnal Green held a joint open studio weekend. It was organised by a committee of the artists from the two studio buildings – Gary Anderson, Kerry Andrews, Debbie Duffin, Ben Joiner, Hylton Stockwell and Janet Tod and 42 artists participated. Two years later, a second open studio event was held at Robinson Road, with an accompanying group exhibition at the Showroom Gallery (the exhibition space which Acme made available to artists to organise their own exhibitions). 35 artists participated, 25 of whom had taken part in the 1984 event.
In 1987, a group of 31 artists based in Acme’s Leyton and Leytonstone studio houses opened their home studios to the public as part of Waltham Forest Arts Festival to promote a greater understanding of the contemporary arts in Waltham Forest.
The programmes for these events are held in the Acme Archive.