What is an open-studios show (and why t’s nothing like a gallery)
Wimbledon Art Fair | 4 minutes read
If you’ve ever walked into a commercial gallery and felt like you weren’t quite supposed to be there - like the art was somehow off-limits, the prices were a secret, and the whole experience was designed for someone else - you’re not alone. Galleries can be wonderful, but they can also be intimidating. Open-studios shows are something else entirely.
At Wimbledon Art Fair, London’s biggest open-studios event, over 180 artists unlock the doors to their actual working studios and invite the public in. Not a curated white-walled space designed to look like a studio. The real thing - where the work happens, where the mess lives, where the half-finished painting are stacked against the wall next to the finished ones.
Here’s what makes that so different.
You’re in the place where the work was made
In a gallery, art arrives stripped of its context. It’s been cleaned up, lit carefully, and placed on a wall at a precise height. Beautiful, yes - but disconnected from the person and the process behind it.
In an open studio, the context is everywhere. You might see the source photographs pinned above the easel. The colour-mixing notes on a scrap of paper. The earlier version of the piece that didn’t quite work. Without anyone saying a word, you understand more about the work - and more about the artist - than any wall label could tell you.
The artist is right here
This is perhaps the biggest difference of all. At Wimbledon Art Fair, the person who made the work is always in the room with you. Not a gallerist representing them, not an assistant - the artist themselves.
You can ask anything. What inspired this? How long did it take? Is this part of a series? What are you working on next? Most artists at the fair actively enjoy these conversations. It’s one of the main reasons they open their studios to the public - they want to connect with the people who responds to their work.
There’s no pressure, and no commission
In a commercial gallery, prices are often undisclosed, the sales process can feel formal, and a significant percentage of what you pay goes to the gallery rather than the artist. At Wimbledon Art Fair, every piece comes with a visible price, every purchase is made directly with the artist, and every penny you spend goes straight to the person who made the work.
That changes the dynamic completely. It’s a conversation, not a transaction.
The range is extraordinary
With 180+ studios spanning painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, screen printing, mixed media and more, Wimbledon Art Fair is less like a single exhibition and more like an entire neighbourhood of creative people opening their front doors at once. You can spend an afternoon dipping in and out, following your instincts, discovering work you’d never found in a gallery.
Some visitors come with a firm idea of what they’re looking for. Most end up surprised - by a medium they’d never considered, or an artist whose work stops them in their tracks in a studio they nearly walked past.
It’s free to attend
No admission fee, no obligation to buy, no prior knowledge required. Wimbledon Art Fair is open to anyone who’s curious - whether you’re a seasoned collector or someone who has never bought a piece of art in your life.
That’s rather the point. The fair exists to close the gap between artists and the people who might love their work. A gallery can feel like a world where you need permission to enter. An open studios show just feels like a very good day out - one that might end with something extraordinary on your wall.
Come and see for yourself
Wimbledon Art Fair runs 14-17 May 2026 at Wimbledon Art Studios, 10 Riverside Yard, SW17 0BB. Entry is free. Pre-book your ticket here for a chance to win £200 to spend on art, and for early access to the online Mini-Masterpiece Sale.
