Sales soar at highly attended arts event

The Armadale Hills Open Studio Arts Trail in September was an overwhelming success, drawing 6,571 visitors from all over the Perth region to view an extraordinary range of artworks.

The popular nine day event saw over $90,000 worth of original pieces sold by talented local artists – marking a 50% increase in sales from 2017.

Since its inception in 2015, the artist-driven tourism initiative is an exciting established cultural event on the calendar, injecting over $220,000 of investment into the local arts industry.

Armadale Mayor Henry Zelones OAM, JP said the event gave visitors the opportunity to uncover the City’s artistic and cultural talent.

“The City is home to many talented artists and the Armadale Hills Open Studio Arts Trail provides the public with the opportunity to discover the extraordinary creativity in our community,” he said.

Twenty five studios opened their doors to showcase their art in a range of mediums which included painting, sculpture, glass, eco-fashion and clothing, jewellery, photography, textiles, ceramics, wood and stoneware.

Artist Julie Fearns Pheasant said participating in the event was a rewarding experience which helped generate awareness of her work.

“Most artists work in a solitary manner and having a yearly open studio event assists us to maintain our connection with a wider world beyond,” she said.

Artist Ian Dickinson said the event gave the public a rare glimpse into private studio spaces and the creative processes behind the art.

“It was very interesting to meet with people who had previously purchased my paintings at other exhibitions and wanted the opportunity to meet me and see where I painted,” he said.

The Armadale Hills Open Studio Arts Trail forms part of the Spring Into Armadale calendar. Go to http://www.armadalehillsartstrail.com for more information.