Oxfordshire Artweeks is a not-for-profit organization that provides a platform for artists residing or working in Oxfordshire to showcase their work and connect with other artists. Its main focus is the artweeks themselves which occur in May every year - an opportunity for artists to open up their studios/workshops/galleries/houses and display their work to the public. Artweeks produce a high-quality printed catalogue where artists can provide information about their exhibition, other printed promotional material, and a website where further information about the artists and their exhibitions can be found.
Having only been at this painting lark for about four years or so, I wasn’t sure I was ready to show my work to the public. But a golden opportunity I couldn’t pass up was presented to me - some friends work for Stanford University in Oxford, and every year they allow an Artweeks artist to use one of their rooms as an exhibition space. They very kindly offered it to me for 2024, and despite my fears, I knew I had to accept!
So, in December I submitted my Artweeks membership (luckily, there are no barriers to entry - anybody can be a member as long as they are an artist residing in Oxfordshire) and then there was no turning back. Negotiating all the tasks that need to be done subsequently looked like a daunting task, but thankfully there was help at hand in the form of Jo Salmon and Esther Lafferty, who basically run the Artweeks show.
In February, Esther and Jo ran an amazingly helpful workshop, running through all the things an artist can (and should) do to make their exhibition run smoothly and successfully. This covered everything from setting up a profile on the Artweeks website and preparing your exhibition space, to publicising your event and making the most of social media. I scribbled many notes, but now need to try to make sense of them!
I have managed a few of the tasks already - an Artweeks website profile (https://www.artweeks.org/p/tim-kapp) and some kind of social media presence, but of course the most daunting task is yet to come - setting up and running my exhibition in mid-May. There is a lot to do, not least some more painting! I have absolutely no idea how many people will come through the door to view my exhibition, but I hope that in a quiet moment (or ten), I’ll be able to post an update on how things are going…
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