We once again opened our doors to the public for the May bank holiday weekend and what a fantastic weekend it was! Spike Print Stuios was buzzing with people, excitement and printmaking over the three days. Spike Open Studios 2026 was extra special this year as it was part of Spike Island 50 — an anniversary year celebrating five decades since the founding of Spike Print Studio and Artspace Bristol in 1976. Open Studios remains at the heart of our 50th anniversary celebrations. It was wonderful to see the entire Spike Island community come together — and incredible to welcome 9,000 visitors through our doors.
On Friday 2 May, we welcomed visitors from 6pm keen to preview our members’ exhibition and grab a drink or two. Word had got out about our Lucky Dip, with people making a beeline for it, in hopes of bagging a print. We sold out on the first evening! The money raised this year will be used to support our charitable sessions by providing materials and equipment.
Our members’ exhibition showcased the wonderful variety of printmaking expertise we champion at SPS. This exhibition was curated with a call out and 41 print sold across the weekend!
Our studio technicians, Jess Pratten and Andrew Wilson, ran workshops in the studio throughout the weekend inviting people to drop in for some still life monoprinting and zine making. Both workshops were sold out, giving lots of new people a taste of SPS.
Our interactive exhibition, ‘FLOOD, PULL, REPEAT’ was a huge success with people queuing to customise their print. This was an interactive, live printing exhibition, inviting you to view a wall of screenprints, choose one to complete with the team, and take away. We’d like to say a big thank you to Fedrigoni for the donation of their Sirio paper which made this possible.
Our members kept the studio a buzz over the weekend by welcoming and chatting to visitors about the workshops, exhibitions and all that we offer at SPS. We enjoyed the many conversations about printmaking processes, ideas and creativity.
What a fabulous weekend showcasing the work of our members, technicians and staff! If you visited us and would like to see more incredible printmaking from artists across Bristol and the UK – join us for Spike Print Fair this July!