A new era for Wandsworth Artists’ Open House
In 2023, Wandsworth Council transferred the management of Wandsworth Artists' Open House (WAOH) to a steering group of local artists, so it could be run as an independent annual event – organised by artists, for artists.
WAOH returns on 7 and 8 October and 14 and 15 October 2023.
Discover the WAOH 2023 programme
If you are a local resident and interested in joining the new WAOH steering group, email waoh2023@gmail.com.
How we got here
Read about our journey through the Covid-19 pandemic to the return of Wandsworth Artists' Open House (WAOH) in 2023.
Wandsworth Art: a creative platform for 2020
When WAOH couldn’t go ahead in October 2020 due to Covid-19, Wandsworth Art was launched to stay true to its aims: to nurture and support artists, bolster creative networks and introduce local art lovers to their creative neighbours and the amazing cultural organisations that call Wandsworth home.
Local artists were (and still are!) invited to create a profile on Wandsworth Art for free.
This digital alternative to WAOH enabled Wandsworth’s resident artists to set up their own online profile and display images of their work. This was much in the same way as WAOH artists, promoting local creative talent and offering a chance for art lovers to take a glimpse at artworks usually hidden behind Wandsworth’s front doors.
Since launching in Autumn 2020, Wandsworth Art has provided a platform to profile hundreds of local creatives, arts groups, projects and organisations. It has also published exclusive interviews with innovative artists, featured our favourite places for local culture trips, and celebrated our artistic heritage.
Taking Wandsworth Art to the streets
In response to ongoing Covid-19 risks, we made the hard decision to cancel WAOH for a second year in 2021 and expanded the work of Wandsworth Art into the public realm as residents returned to local high streets.
Framed turned the borough’s streets into vibrant outdoor art galleries, with works by local artists (selected from the Wandsworth Art profiles) displayed on lamp post banners and in shop windows. Livening up the high streets, and encouraging people to discover the work of artists living in their neighbourhoods, Framed also provided a new platform for local artists to exhibit their work safely during the ongoing pandemic.
Throughout 2021/22, hundreds of lamp post banner artworks – featuring contemporary painting, traditional portraiture, photography, conceptual art, digital drawing, sculpture and illustration – took over Balham, Furzedown, Tooting, Earlsfield, Southfields, Roehampton, Putney, Wandsworth Town, Battersea, Nine Elms and Clapham Junction – and some of them are still up!
Details of the artworks and their locations can be found on the Wandsworth Art website.
A new initiative: Wandsworth Art Markets
As we emerged from the pandemic and lockdown restrictions eased, there was an appetite to return to live, in-person events, while continuing to protect our most vulnerable participants and residents.
Originally scheduled for Autumn 2022 (over the usual WAOH dates), the Arts and Culture Service teamed up with Citizens Art London to organise a series of outdoor art markets for local artists and makers to sell their work.
The first Wandsworth Art Markets took place in Nine Elms, Putney and Tooting in April 2023.
Wandsworth Artists' Open House (WAOH) returns
At the same time, we began consultations with WAOH and Wandsworth Art artists about the future of WAOH, and the possibility of running as it an independent initiative in 2023.
In the wake of these conversations, a new steering group of local artists took over the management of WAOH, creating a new brand and website which launched in September 2023.
WAOH returns for the first time since 2019 on 7 and 8 October and 14 and 15 October 2023.
Discover the new Wandsworth Artists' Open House.