Date: October 31, 2026
The SOS members’ Autumn Exhibition at the The Guildhall, Bury St Edmunds, will run from Saturday17th – Sunday 25th October, 10am-4pm.
As always, we need your help to make this event a success. Therefore, in addition to the usual stewarding slots, we have once again added further opportunities for you to offer assistance.
DROP-OFF – Thursday 15th October, 9.45am-2pm – we need six volunteers – four to check-in work (two at each desk), one to greet artists as they arrive and one to move checked-in work to a staging area (drop-off actually starts at 10am, but we have allowed time for a short briefing and setting up, prior to opening the doors).
MEET THE ARTISTS EVENT – Saturday 17th October – in addition to the regular morning and afternoon stewarding slots, we would appreciate some additional help between 1pm and 4pm during the Meet the Artists event (previously known as the PV).
PICK-UP – Finally, on Sunday 25th October, in addition to the regular morning and afternoon stewarding slots, we will need six volunteers to help between 3.30pm and 5.30pm checking-out artists’ work and tidying up – four to check-out work (two at each desk), one to greet artists and pass on any relevant information as they arrive and one to help artists find their items.
We anticipate that we will only need artists to sign up for one shift each. However, we do need to ensure that there are a minimum of three artists on every shift so, if exhibitor numbers to not reach the levels we are expecting, and if you live within reasonable travelling distance of the venue, we would be very grateful if you could sign up for more than one shift (all-day shifts permitted – we will arrange a lunch break). Please choose your preferred date(s) and time(s) from the following list. Feel free to select as many as you would like. If you are struggling to find a shift that you can do, please contact the exhibition organisers at admin@suffolkopenstudios.org.
NB For your safety, Suffolk Open Studios does not permit lone “working” (volunteering) so if we are unable to fill certain stewarding slots, the exhibition will not open at those times and the potential for any sales will be lost, not to mention the inconvenience it will cause to visitors who may have traveled to the venue especially.
Parking: There no parking on site.
Refreshments: There are very limited options for making hot drinks etc. so please bring food and drink with you if required during your stewarding shift.
Toilets: There are toilets within the Guildhall that you can use.
If you find that all the stewarding slots have been filled, or you are unable to cover any that remain available, please email us at admin@suffolkopenstudios.org and add your name to the reserve list. Be sure to tell us which dates and times you would be able to cover and whether or not you could step in at short notice.
