What does 30 years of holding space for artists in a city actually mean?

It means nearly 20,000 visitors through the doors every year. It means 120 professional artists at any one time - painters, photographers, ceramicists, filmmakers, digital practitioners - at every stage of their careers. It means generations of creative lives shaped, in part, by having a place to work, grow, and be seen.

Phoenix Art Space has been that place in Brighton & Hove since 1996. As Chair of the Board, I couldn't be prouder of what Phoenix represents, and this milestone means a great deal to me, as Phoenix changed my own creative life and set me on the course I am still on today.

This year's Open Studios - 16 and 17 May, 11am-5pm, with a preview on Friday 15 May 6-8.30pm - is a celebration of all of this. Come and step inside the working studios. Meet the artists. See the processes, the making, the work. It is behind-the-scenes access to something genuinely alive.

And this year carries extra meaning. We are 30. And we are looking hard at the next 30 - with real ambition for what Phoenix can become: more sustainable, more accessible, more resilient. You can read about our 'Towards a Sustainable Future' programme here: phoenixartspace.org/towards-a-sustainable-future/

phoenixartspace.org/Events/phoenix-open-studios-2026/

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