APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN – DEADLINE FRIDAY 30th MARCH

Medway Open Studios and Arts Festival is a new festival in Medway, to celebrate and promote the creative communities and artist that live and work in Medway. If successful it is intended to become an annual festival in Medway.

All art forms are invited to apply, including the performing arts, to open your studios/ work space to exhibit your art, meet visitors and potentially offer free taster sessions in your studios. The festival also welcomes applications from schools/ colleges and community groups.

The 2012 festival will focus on one weekend, Saturday 7 & Sunday 8 July, and extend into the following week. Applications are open; closing date is Friday 30 March 2012.

The Individual Artists Application Form and the Festival Guidelines are attached and there is more useful information below-

Entry Fee

Entry to Medway Open Studios & Arts Festival is charged at £50 per individual artist. Each participating individual artist will receive the same size entry within the brochure.

Group studios or a shared spaces can apply for a group entry, and should request a group application form. In this context a group entry is three or more artists working in the same location. Group applications are provided with one entry within the festival programme, which includes a single image of your choice. These ‘group venues’ are entitled to the following entry discounts:

• ‘Small Group’ (3 – 5 persons exhibiting): £130

• ‘Medium Group’ (6 – 9 persons exhibiting): £250

• ‘Large Group’ (10 or more persons exhibiting): £300

All income gathered through application fees will be spent on marketing materials, design costs, print and distribution. This is a self- financing, not for profit festival, with all income raised by the festival being put back into the festival.

What you will get
Your entry fee will guarantee you a listing in the festival programme that will include your name, studio address & location, description of your art and studio exhibition, and an image of your choosing. Your venue will be pinned on the festival map of participants in Medway.

You will be given marketing materials to promote your studio and part in the festival, these will include;

Festival programmes (approximately 50 programmes – dependant on the number of applicants they receive)
Festival posters
Festival flyers/ postcards

What they will do
They will market the festival by distributing festival programmes/ posters/ flyers throughout Medway and surrounding Kent.
Release a press release and contact the local press to support the festival
Advertise the festival in relevant venues and locations throughout Kent.
Create and manage an online marketing campaign.
Source advertisers and sponsors to raise income for the festival programme.
Host an opening event to promote the festival and introduce participating artists to each other.
Encourage festival visitors to visit more than 5 participating artists by offering a £100 prize raffle to be spent with any festival artist of their choosing after the festival.
Invite every applicant to enter an image as part of a competition to design the front cover of the 2012 festival programme.
Oh and much more…!

For more information or to ask any questions please contact :

Heather Burgess

Mobile: 07545 642 581
Email: heather.burgess@mail.com
Twitter: @MwayOpenStudios

Area – South East