This June arts & education charity and social enterprise Bow Arts will be hosting their annual artists’ open studios event, BowFest. Held at the iconic Bow Road site — the charity’s founding studio complex — the two-day arts festival is a chance to step inside over 100 working studios and meet the artists shaping London’s creative scene.
The once-a-year event is a chance for visitors to engage with Bow Road’s longstanding artistic community of over 100 talented painters, sculptors, theatre makers, designers, performers, jewellers, illustrators and more. A chance to support and meet local artists in east London, BowFest also offers the chance to purchase work direct from the artist affordably, with Bow Arts being a member of the Own Art scheme.
Friday evening kicks off with live music in the courtyard, while Saturday invites families to take part in a free creative workshop led by one of Bow Arts’ professional artist educators. A makers’ market as well as food and drink stalls accompany the event in the Bow Road courtyard.
Alongside the festivities, the Nunnery Gallery will host the annual Bow Open exhibition, this year in collaboration with young curators from award-winning youth and community organisation, Mile End Community Project. The exhibition platforms work from Bow Arts artists, showing new and innovative work selected by a different guest curator each year. The show has previously been curated by some of east London’s finest local legends, including Graham Norton, Chila Burman, and gal-dem.
Sophie Hill, Director of Arts and Events at Bow Arts said
“The Open Studios are a chance for visitors to connect to the artists working in their neighbourhoods, as well as catch a glimpse of how culture is shaped in east London behind the scenes.
Bow Arts strives to support artists to take creative risks and build sustainable careers with access to affordable workspace. This is our annual invitation to meet those artists and explore their creative spaces.”
