Scotland's Award Winning, biggest and best Open Studios Event. (7th - 29th September 2013)
2013 info
NEOS2013 will be during September 7th - 29th this year, but remember - the catalogue is a year round directory, providing practitioners with a professional and well distributed connection to the public. (24,000 catalogues were printed and distributes Scotland wide in 2012!)
There were also an estimated 20,000+ visitors to the 286 participants during NEOS'12.
The NEOS 2011 guide (map) is now ready for proofing - after years of trying to place hundreds of dots, and occasionally getting one or two wrong, we've decided to get you (the members) to help us ensure that the dots are as close to the venue as possible...
Tell your friends about it (if they are involved in NEOS) - just in case they don't get (or read*) the NEOS emails, read the blog, follow us on twitter, visit the NEOS website or are following us on facebook.
Yours,
The NEOS Team.
* - did you know that on average, only 48% of people getting the NEOS emails read them? - Mailchimp provide some very interesting statistics...
Photographer Andy Martin is looking for a venue (or a group of artists with whom to share a venue) in the Banff area for NEOS 2011. Time is running short for making the NEOS registration deadline (5 days left) so if anyone is able to help Andy please contact Suzanne Edge (NEOS secretary) as soon as possible at suzanne@suzanneedge.co.uk
Julia Oliver is showing at Inchmarlo Golf Course club house and is looking for artists to join her. There is indoor and outdoor space available. Anyone interested can contact Julia by email info@eventmanage.co.za.
Don't forget that there's a chance to get help with your online applications from Phil and David at the registration event at The Loft (50 Cotton Street) between 12noon and 5pm - details in the blog below. Please shout if you need help in the last few days before the application deadline.
Creative Cultures Scotland are running a Poll to find out what the "best cultural events of 2010" were for the North East of Scotland... perhaps you'd like to nominate NEOS?...
to enter your favourite event (whatever it is!) - please visit : http://polldaddy.com/s/0043028E2F8DAE64 and let them know.
We're looking to find out who'll be blogging during their NEOS events...
If you'd like to contribute to a "mashup" blog (mixing all the feeds from all the bloggers) and have a wee feature on a new page for the website, please send us an email, a 100 word mini biog (or statement about your blog), and we'll set up a page... waiting for the big day! go on, it'll be fun...
info@northeastopenstudios.co.uk
NEOS 2010: September 11th - 19th. Visit www.northeastopenstudios.co.uk for more information
The NEOS newsletter for december has been sent out on the 28th of November, listing lots of shows and events to go see & get involved with.
If you didn't get the email, or would like to subscribe to the email list, please click on the title of this blog entry and follow the links to subscribe or edit your profile (double check your email is the current one you use!)
you can also send the link to friends if you think they would like to receive our newsletter!
Thank you to everyone who participated and came to see all the amazing work on show for NEOS 2009.
We'd like to remind everyone that the NEOS booklets are a year round directory - and not "just" an advert for a 10 day event in September! - So keep any spare booklets you have for future use during 2009/10, and keep telling people about it!
We've heard of several stories of people getting commissions from the booklet entry already (out with the NEOS event), so they are an essential tool to communicate with the art going public in the North East of Scotland!
We'll be sending out digital feedback forms this week - we'd love to hear of all you comments, positive or negative, as we want to make NEOS better each year - for entrants and public alike.
Thanks again, we hope you had as much fun, and interesting visitors as we did (At Mill Farm, Kemnay).
We were "off" yesterday - so no post for day 3 I'm afraid. We did hear some fantastic reports from some other venues, notably from a friend who had visited Johnshaven and thought their collective spirit was fantastic. A local “map” has been produced, where all the local venues have got together to promote EACHOTHER - they have even produced a marker system that when visitors get a stamp from all Johnshaven venues, you are entered into a prize draw…brilliant! “bunnets aff” to the guys.
We had a quiet day yesterday, with a quick visit to Mill farm, only to be told that there were around 60 people visit over the 4 hours of Tuesday.
Today Gabi is in Aberdeen for a meeting – so Lynne Strachan Picks me & poppy up to head to mill farm fro 12.15 We sadly missed Alan (Typeface man)… so I still can’t report his last name! (or more to the point, what he wants to do to help us with Typeface a week!)…
I set up the PC and start working on a wee website I’ve been asked to do – I think people are frightened by the man on the PC in the corner…it’s no paintin’ captain! Perhaps I look too studious to be approachable he he. I did also get a rather abruptly honest visitor telling my the price of my slate work was “uncivilised”, I think this is what NEOS is for… to present situations to practitioners to react to… it’s always good to see how to react to a crass statement now and again!
We have a steady amount of visitors again today, 70+ by the end of play!… Madge Wards came for a visit, it’s always good to see her cheery, positive face – and her numbers are up around the 70’s (she had 101 visitors last year – “I’m here by myself, in the middle of nowhere, and I am so happy people are coming to see me!”- what a trooper.
We also get word from the Skinny Magazine – Jaco Justice has written a beautiful wee piece on NEOS – it’s well worth reading.
NEOS 2009: September 12th - 21st. Visit www.northeastopenstudios.co.uk for more informatio
Ah! the weather! Did I mention that yesterday was an amazing, clear, crisp September day? Today? Dreich! - Never mind, we'll see how it goes...
Gabi and I arrive at Mill Farm, just after 10am and there are already people checking out the work on the walls, barely time to get a coffee in! Magnhild is on waffle duty, boy oh boy are those Norwegian waffles tasty! - NEOS, it's not just about selling work you know! We (the participants) are having a great time talking to each other about our work and "things on", we're really happy about the networking and social aspect the focused week NEOS gives us as artists.
The numbers of visitors are immense today, final count was 232 visitors! (so the weather doesn't put people off!) - We'd heard that someone was planning a family walk, but decided against it, but started following the yellow NEOS signs!
We'd also spoken to lots of people today that had never heard of NEOS before, so it does appear that the word is spreading! We've all agreed that everyone showing at Mill Farm this year has tried to tell more people about NEOS (and our venue)... We also had a fantastic visit from the Knock News
NEOS 2009: September 12th - 21st. Visit www.northeastopenstudios.co.uk for more information
Phil Thompson (NEOS designer) is going to blog his NEOS week...
today is the first day of NEOS2009... Gabi rushes off to Mill Farm for some last minute prep / hanging, whilst I look after Poppy (late night last night!), so Pops has a lie in...
We get to Mill Farm at 10.30 to see a throng of people checking out the 12 artists congregated at Susie Hunt's venue. The morning has kicked off with a real bang!
The morning is solid - at least 10 people per 20 / 30 mins up until dinner time... We were visited by Aberdeen City Council's Cultural Strategy crew! - Gary Cameron was most impressed with the scope and range of practitioners included in NEOS - and sees a great opportunity for NEOS to be a major part of the "City of Culture" - if (and when!) we (Aberdeen City & Shire) get it... 2013. It was a pleasure discussing the range of work on show- the amazing stories of how people have progressed and pushed their artwork / practice because of NEOS over the years (I'd mentioned Sjarifah Roberts story for the Creative Cultures Networking night about NEOS giving her the confidence to build a bespoke kiln to realise her "bigger" ideas - amazing story!)...
I was also impressed to meet a man who was one of the first people to "digitize type" - (Alan, was his first name)... He promises to get in contact about "Typefaceaweek" - and is very interested in not only contributing, but helping Gabi and I squeeze more potential from the project. He Took out postcards and business cards - so we'll hopefully have more to report on later this week!
We also had a visit from a tutor from Duncan of Jordanstone (Dundee art school) who was most impressed with the NEOS set up - and the connection it had on many levels with the "art going public".
All in all, not only did we all at mill farm think that today was an amazing success (for the sheer number of visitors), but we all pulled together, had some banter, talked about our work with each other, talked about our aspirations and dreams... it's crucial and an often over looked aspect of what we do as practitioners.
Overall, there was a steady stream of people coming to see the work on show (140 + over the whole day). Everyone sold work (except me, but I was more than happy to have met the people I did and the possible projects that might arise from those meetings!)
after a long and eventful day, we slink home and have a fantastic home made vegetable stir fry - simple! more tomorrow. Phil.
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