Current News

Picture: SEOS bursary winners Reem Shaheen (right) and Niki Campbell.

When I won a South East Open Studios 2007 Bursary, it came as a mixed blessing. I was in the throws of my Final BA show, completing my dissertation and applying for a job as a trainee art teacher (which meant seemingly endless presentations, aptitude tests and interviews!), plus looking after 2 children as a single parent- phew!

Although the stress levels in the run up to opening day were fairly high, the period actually came as a respite from the frantic juggling of the previous months.

I won the bursary alongside a fellow University of Greenwich Fine Art Degree student Niki Campbell. We decided to run the open studio together, partially for practical reasons and partially for moral support (neither of us having taken part in anything similar before).

The three weeks we were open went surprisingly quickly, visitors either coming in dribs and drabs or droves! The visitor feed-back proved to be particularly interesting, everyone seemed to have very similar taste- in fact I could have sold one particular painting 10 times over (though typically it was the one thing not for sale!).

Both Niki and I found the Open Studios an overwhelmingly positive event, gaining much from the experience apart from the odd sale; we also enjoyed an increase in confidence in talking about our work, and the opportunity to meet other artists.

The most exciting thing for me was receiving interest from a gallery. I am in the process of doing 2 large paintings for them, which will hopefully lead to a permanent working relationship.

I feel profoundly changed from the South East Open Studios experience, which is something I never expected to say. This year I took part on a whim but enjoyed it so much that will definitely take part again next year!

Reem Shaheen. Tonbridge.

If you took part in SEOS 2007 and have a story and/or pictures of your event, please contact website enquiries.