Homebuyers invited to Help to Sell events this Bank Holiday weekend

The festival is free to attend and will take place on May 4, 5 & 6, 11 & 12, 18 & 19 and 25, 26 & 27. Highlights range from a dog-themed house to a house on wheels moving across the city as a comment about rising rents in the city.

This year’s Artists Open Houses Spring festival is bigger than ever, with more than 180 venues opening their doors to welcome art and craft enthusiasts in to explore their work and environments.

Highlights of the AOH festival this May include:

• Brighton-born artist Bryony Devitt joins AOH this year with an unconventional venue, a portable open house (POH). This inventive addition is a dolls’ house on wheels showcasing custom-made miniature artwork by local and international artists. The POH will roam the streets of one of Britain’s most expensive cities, where Bryony herself cannot afford to purchase a home, it provokes reflection on the struggles posed by Brighton’s housing crisis.

• Story Maps, an exhibition by artists with learning disabilities, autism and neurodivergence from the Figment Arts Studio that will explore the rich folklore of our locale, which will include a pop-up folklore library and opportunity to take part in collaborative painting.

• Visitors can explore more artwork by brochure cover artist Sarah Arnett in the unique interiors of The Little Picture Palace, which will be open to the public throughout the festival. Arnett’s open house will also present jewellery by Vivienne Ridley, accessories by Holly M Atelier, cushions by Maria Tilyard and work by Raw Solace and Corpo Santo. There will also be workshops every Friday as well as a Sunday Salon each weekend.

• The DOG show, a popular addition to AOH returning for it’s fifth year, presenting over 200 piece of dog inspired artworks. For this year they will have seven returning artists: painter Sally Muir, Felted Fido and her exquisite felted dogs, Lorraine Corrigan’s papier-mâché dogs, Bridget Baker’s restrained wire dogs, Gemma Rees and her gorgeous Bedlington whippet sculptures, Sophie Thurlow’s miniatures painted on teabags and Joanna Osborne’s ceramic dogs. New artists for this year include: Josse Davis with his hand thrown mugs plus flat backs inspired by Staffordshire figurines and small rake dogs, Violet Von Riot and her intricate collage dogs, Justine Osborne’s (no relation!) mugs and bowls, Sarah Gooder’s refined watercolours, and Lost and Foundry with her dog lamps. Plus, composer Orlando Gough has created a specially composed dog-scape - a canine polyphonic dog sound mash-up.

• This year, 19 Adelaide Studio is posing the question, how do ideas originate? and responds through VISION - an exhibition of sculptures and performances by artists Paulina Anzorge and a preview of Pascal Dowers’ design practice. Each evening, there will be thought-provoking talks, performances and short film screenings.

• In the beautiful Regency Town House, visitors can explore This Is The Seventh Wave, a group exhibition curated by Judy Stevens and Dee Ferris that brings together locally-based artists for whom the sea is a source for inspiration. The exhibition offers up the ocean as a site for collaboration and connection, as well as a call to action on issues including climate futures/pasts, sustainability and migration. Exhibiting artists include; Polly Arnett, Nicholas Carrick, Emma Critchley, Dee Ferris, John Haywood, Solange Leon, Andre Lichtenberg, Alej ez, Catalina Mejia Moreno, Judy Stevens, Francisca Vidal Vergara + Pulso Austral, Arantza Vilas, Carole Villain and Jonathan Wright.

AOH is a unique opportunity to interact with local artists and makers, and to discover their work in a variety of venues from Hove and Portslade to Fiveways, Seven Dials to Rottingdean and out to Ditchling, Newhaven and the villages beyond. When you choose to purchase work during the festival, you are safe in the knowledge that your investment will directly support the emerging and established artists and makers.

“We were thrilled with the response to our call for open houses this year, with so many returning familiar venues and some exciting newcomers to explore, there really will be something for everyone to enjoy this May. A huge thanks to Sarah for our beautiful brochure cover, and to all the artists and makers who choose to participate in Artists Open Houses," said Judy Stevens, AOH Festival Director.