There’s no better place to seek inspiration than here in the East Neuk with its golden beaches, birdlife, terracotta roofs, cobbled streets and colourful harbours, and there’s no better time to seek inspiration than when our talented local artists, designers and makers invite you to visit them in their homes and studios, from Lower Largo to Kingsbarns, following our fantastic art trail through the coastal villages of the East Neuk of Fife.
Our artists include those who have exhibited internationally, as well as those with an eye on future fame, and every artist has their own unique style. There’s always an exciting range of paintings, textiles, prints, jewellery, illustrations, cards, photographs, metalwork and stained glass on sale. If you’re looking for something to enhance your home or office, you will find lots of wonderful possibilities as you tour the studios. So make a note to visit the East Neuk’s wonderful villages, landscapes and wildlife, and be inspired by our local art treasures on show during our next Open Studios event.
Our 2024 brochure has examples of artists’ work, maps and other tips to help people follow the trail, and there’s a wealth of information about each artist online. Every artist has their own unique style, with an exciting range of paintings, prints, jewellery, cards, photographs, textiles, ceramics and glass art on sale. Venues also displayed our new large red balloon signs to make them very easy to spot!
The first East Neuk Open Studios event took place in 2003. Since then, ENOS weekends have become mainstays of the East Neuk’s busy arts and crafts calendar, alongside the several village festivals and the East Neuk Festival.
In 2020, it had been impossible to schedule any Open Studios weekends or the Winter Showcase, so we went virtual – a virtual tour of our artists, village by village; Open Studios became Online Studios; and we organised a virtual Winter Showcase. These are still available to view on our website.
In 2021, Covid meant that most of our artists were unable to open their studios and houses. We did however hold two very successful showcase weekends, in July and November, in the Bowhouse event space – leading us to make that a regular venue for our winter event.
So now, every November, we stage an event at the Bowhouse with many of our artists exhibiting under one roof. It’s a great time to look for Christmas for yourself and others!
The Christmas Markets at the Bowhouse have been great successes – and 2024 was no exception. Our thanks go to everyone involved.
All year round …
If you can’t make the Open Studios or Winter Showcase, note that many of our artists exhibit their work all year round at different venues, and are generally happy to be contacted at any time by people wanting to see and purchase their work.
Follow us!
If you follow us on our website and social media, we’ll also keep you posted about other local events that involve our artists, such as the Crail and Anstruther festivals in July, the Pittenweem Arts Festival in August and the St Monans Arts Festival in September.
