There has long been a tremendous talent pool of visual artists in Cowal, but until the inauguration of the Cowal Open Studios (COS)last year there was only informal cooperation between them. Many work from a studio at home, often in the most beautiful but fairly inaccessible places, so encouraging visitors – local and tourists – is not always an easy task.

Last year a group of 29 artists got together to promote an artists’ trail around Cowal. With workshops, exhibitions, talks by artists and access to their studios, the events were clearly a great success. More than 1,300 visitors came over the weekend and quadrupled the artists’ email mailing list.

Their Homecoming  2009 grant means that COS will be able to continue the project and greatly expand the marketing of Cowal outside the area. Jean Donaldson, Chair of COS told me: ‘Last year half of the visitors over the weekend lived outside Cowal, so the weekend clearly had a positive impact on local tourism and business, quite apart from being of benefit to the artists involved.

‘The grant we have received from Argyll and Bute Council and Leader as part of their investment in Homecoming 2009 will make all the difference. We will be able to produce more directories and programmes of events that can be more widely distributed through tourist offices, hotels and so on. But the grant will also buy us some time to look at expanding the potential for further workshops and exhibitions, and maybe even artists’ conferences and networking events’.

By linking visits to studios with Cowal’s outstanding landscape and views COS believe that the Open Studios offer a really worthwhile addition to the Cowal events calendar. Jean says: ‘So many of our artists take their inspiration from what they see around them, so the paintings and photographs we display help to promote the area in themselves’.

Like most artists, this group is clearly not all about business or making a buck! There is a genuine enthusiasm that emanates from Jean – a keenness clearly shared by the other artists to demystify art; to make it more accessible and non elitist. Clearly seeing art in its true environment, and not in a ‘museum’ setting adds to the enjoyment and appreciation of the work.

What may be less obvious to the public is the value of such a co-operative venture to the artists themselves. Working alone in a studio can be quite isolating, both on the business and personal front. Regular get togethers for the studios involved provides a good social and fun base for mutual self-help, and in an informal environment they can share ideas and visions for the future. The fact that ten more local artists and galleries want to come on board for the 2009 programme is testament to the perception that this idea’s time has come, and that co-operation on events is the way forward.

When I asked Jean to summarise last year’s events I was surprised that it was not a business result she emphasised. While admitting the hard work and time commitment involved, it was not the resultant sales she emphasised but the fact that: ‘it was a fabulous, joyful weekend. We have had tremendous feedback from artists, locals and tourists. So many people have told us that they want to come again and visit more studios that we are quietly confident about 2009 and beyond’.

If all the results of Argyll and Bute’s investment in Homecoming 2009 are as positive as this, we could be at a tipping point in people’s idea of what the area is all about.

Cowal Open Studios runs from September 25th to 28th, but there will be an informal meeting and Burn’s Supper on 24th January at the Creggans Inn, Strachur, for those interested in being involved. For more details please contact Jean Donaldson info@cowalopenstudios.co.uk or on 01369 860099.

Reporter: Mark Morpurgo

Photographs: Derek Prescott – From top to bottom, photographs show work by:  Anne McClintock; Bill Williamson; Sarah Sumsion; Lucy Neish.