Swindon Open Studios is a community-based art event which started informally with a few artists inviting family and friends over and sending them on to visit other local artists. Artists from Swindon and surrounding areas invite the public into their studios, homes, and pop-up exhibitions over the last two weekends in September each year. The first SOS event was more than 20 years ago, but it ran alternate years at the beginning. In 2004, there were 53 participating artists, but the number has more than doubled to circa 130 artists at 56 different venues in 2024.
The Committee is run by six volunteers and the event is sponsored by local companies. Alongside registration fees, the money is pooled to cover the costs of marketing.
