30th
Anniversary of ARTISTS AT HOME
13-15 June 2003
Introduction By Mary Fedden
When my late husband, Julian Trevelyan, and I first opened our studio to the public one summer Sunday in 1973, we never realised we would be starting a local tradition. We had been asked to open by Hammersmith and Fulham Council, who enticed us with a £5 grant for tea and biscuits. Much to our surprise, the day was a huge success, with over 100 visitors. They were appreciative of our work, but equally interested to see inside these mysterious studios!
We
continued to open every year, and gradually more and more artists joined
in the scheme, with the Hobby Horse, the artists’ supplier in King
Street acting as co-ordinator. For a while, until the crowds became overwhelming,
the scheme was combined with the open gardens weekend. It was great fun
to see people making a day of it, wandering between gardens and studios
along the river, laden with plants, paintings and picnics.
I continued to open for several years after Julian died in 1988, but Artists
at Home has obviously expanded and changed a lot since I took part. There
are now over 40 in the group - painters, potters, sculptors, photographers,
printmakers, textile-designers - and a much wider area is covered. The
intention, however, is very much the same - to give people the opportunity
of seeing the artists’ work in the very space where it was created.
I am very glad to be associated with the 30th Anniversary of Artists at Home and wish you all - visitors and artists - a very happy weekend.
Mary Fedden RA