Come and explore our Open Studios at Bennachie

Joining us at the Bennachie Visitor Centre for NEOS are:

• No 135 Jenny Evans Artist

• No 279 Tickled Collie

• No 232 Richard Salway Photographic

• No 57 Colourworx Art by Cally Smith

Admission is free. Refreshments available

Come and explore our open studios, make the most of this unique opportunity to visit artists in their creative spaces, chat about their work and find out about their artistic processes.

You will find Open Studios in almost every type of location from custom built studios to private homes, garden sheds, cafes, galleries and more besides, some on high streets and industrial estates and others with staggering views of coast and countryside. Not all our members have accessible studios and will set up in other spaces or get together at group venues. The art and craft is just as varied and interesting, created by artists with a wide variety of experience and inspiration. Part of the fun of North East Open Studios is uncovering artwork you’ll fall in love with in unexpected places.  

What all will have in common is the wonderful welcome.

Our yellow signs are a familiar sight across the North East every September, guiding visitors to our artists’ doors. The NEOS book, App and this website shows the opening dates and times for each venue during NEOS and are a great resource to find local artists and makers all year round

Homecoming is a collaborative exhibition of sketches by landscape artist, Ingrid Fraser, and poet, Rachel Ferguson. The project germinated from a connection made while Rachel was living in Tokyo and was realised through a series of walks in the Aberdeenshire countryside in April and May.

The exhibition captures the essence of dialogues between two artists getting to know one another while interacting with the natural environment that has informed a sense of home for them in different ways. The works displayed are a collection of sketches and poems that traverse the concepts of self, motherhood, loss and the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi—the acceptance of transience and imperfection.

Homecoming delves into the contrasting and often interconnected sentiments of grief and birth, endings and beginnings. Each piece is a direct response to the stimuli of the day, crafted from the foundational elements of their arts and a discussion.

Viewers are invited to reconnect with their origins and the essence of creativity through the simple yet profound acts of observing and responding. It is a tribute to the influence of place on artistic expression and the universal journey of returning to one’s roots, both geographically and creatively.

Mixed media sketches and handwritten poems are available for purchase.

For July and August Chapel of Garioch Primary School are sharing their work after recently completing their John Muir Award with the Aberdeenshire Council Garioch Ranger.

The criteria for this award is to Explore, Discover, Conserve and Share.

Their activities included setting up a trail camera where they got footage of two pine martens. They also did tree and plant identification, pond dipping, a minibeast hunt, learned about the Bennachie Colonists and did a litter pick. Pupils also designed and put up posters to highlight the importance to dog and horse owners of being responsible in the countryside and clearing their dog and horse mess off the paths. Well done to all.

“Right to Roam” is an easy phrase; it trips off the tongue and conjures up a romantic picture of a happy-go-lucky hiker wondering care-free across the hills. It’s an easy shorthand that many people use to sum up their idea of how they may access the countryside in Scotland since the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 came into effect.

The truth, of course, is somewhat different. Access users in Scotland have a right of responsible access to the countryside, not such a simple thing to say, and not so simple in reality. The key to harmonious use of the countryside is the word responsible, and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC) is here to guide all non-motorised users as to what responsible or irresponsible behaviour is; on the part of both the land manager and the access user.

Summer Special at the Bennachie Visitor Centre

Hop on down to the Bennachie Visitor Centre this summer and discover The Big Hop Sculpture Trail 2023 in support of Clan Cancer Support. Featuring fabulous mini moon gazer sculptures by Port Elphinstone Primary School, Tough primary School, Alford Primary School and Midmill Primary School the Trail is live from Sunday 2nd July until Sunday 3rd September.

Admission is free and there’s Trail maps available.

Discover the story behind the symbols in this beautiful display plus information on local places of interest . All the artwork was very kindly donated by local artist Roselyne O’neill. Open daily 10 am to 4.30pm.

An exhibition of local landscape artist Jenny Evans mixed media paintings of the Scottish landscape focusing on the amazing light and colour.
Jenny will be our artist in residence on Saturday 10th and 17th from 10.30am to 4pm so please come in, say hello, and have a chat about her work.