back >

IW Open Studios 2025 Wraps with Heartfelt Artist Celebration

On Monday 26th May, the West Gallery at Quay Arts played host to our IW Open Studios 2025 closing party - a warm and celebratory moment to mark the end of this year’s event and bring our amazing community of artists back together.

Exclusively for participating artists, the informal gathering was a chance to share stories, reflect on the experience, and reconnect with fellow creatives after 11 inspiring days of open studio visits across the Island. It’s something many artists asked for - and we were so pleased to make it happen.

Our brilliant Co-Director Caroline Underwood opened the evening with a few heartfelt words about the power of coming together as a community and the collective effort that makes IWOS possible. She also gave a very special thank you to Dee Becker, our incredible marketing and press coordinator, whose tireless work this year resulted in some truly outstanding visibility for the event.

From getting our 10-second IWOS showreel (produced by talented young artist Dominika Baerova) on board and in the terminals of Hovertravel, Red Funnel and Wightlink, to features in Style of Wight and WightLife magazines, Dee’s input has helped IWOS reach new audiences. As Dee steps away from the role, we extend our heartfelt thanks for her creativity, energy and deep knowledge of Island press and beyond.

Dee reminded us that this has been a team effort - not just behind the scenes, but all of you artists too. Without you, there’s no event, no art, no stories to tell. Thank you for being part of it.

If you’re interested in joining our volunteer Action Team for the 2026 event - particularly to support our marketing and press activity - we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch at info@isleofwightopenstudios.co.uk

Showcase Exhibition – final week & artwork collection:
A reminder from Ian Whitmore at Quay Arts to all Showcase Exhibition artists: the exhibition remains open until Saturday 31st May, and work must be collected on Monday 2nd June between 10am–7pm. (Please note: Quay Arts does not have storage space, so it’s essential that all artwork is collected during this time.) For any queries, contact: artsteam@quayarts.org
We were delighted to see so many red dots in the gallery! Artists with sold work will be contacted individually by the Quay Arts team regarding payment details.

We want to hear from you - Artist Feedback Form:
Your feedback helps shape the future of IW Open Studios. Whether you were fully booked every day or had a more intimate experience, we want to hear what worked, what didn’t, and how we can make next year even better.

Please complete the feedback form by 1st June 2025: Complete the feedback form here
All responses are confidential and used solely by the IWOS team to evaluate this year’s event.

Special thanks also go to our generous supporters & partners: 
We are incredibly grateful to Creative Island for enabling IWOS - whose backing has helped us shine a light on the Island’s creative talent. We'd also like to thank Quay Arts for hosting our Showcase Exhibition in the West Gallery. The Showcase Exhibition launch event was made possible with the kind support of our sponsors: Monkton Arts, Vectis Storage, Velvet Octopus, Roach Pittis, BCM Wilson Hill, and Cherry Godfrey. 

What’s next?
We’ll be announcing the dates for IW Open Studios 2026 very soon - along with details on how to get involved, whether you’re a returning artist or thinking of opening your studio for the first time. Watch this space – and thank you again for being part of IW Open Studios 2025. The energy, passion and talent on display this year has been phenomenal.

Let’s keep building on it, together!