Dumfries & Galloway’s open studios event Spring Fling has reached twenty years old; 2022’s edition will feature 96 studios, including several new to the event, spanning four days in June. Marking the anniversary, there will be new commissions, a print programme, and the launch of a Spring Fling virtual studios.

A special Creative Bursary is supporting Ruth Elizabeth Jones and Emma Varley to develop their experimental collaboration, Earthlight (pictured), which will be on display at Gracefield Arts Centre. A special exhibition, Spring Fling at 20, will be showing at Gracefield Arts Centre in Dumfries, 28th May – 2nd July, and an online programme is now available. Further marking the 20^th anniversary, printmaker Sarah Stewart has been presented a Design Commission, and a selling exhibition in partnership with Newcastle’s Biscuit Factory will take place 14th – 24th July.

To help visitors get around as many studios as possible, there are bus tours available, so the car can be left behind.

A new exhibitor this year is Kate Bentley SWA of Barnhourie Farm, Sandyhills (Venue 56), a traditional painter by nature who was artist-in-residence at John Ruskin’s home, Brantwood in Cumbria. A mix of both kinds of work will be on view during Spring Fling along with some work in progress. Private appointments are also welcome.

From a Spring Fling newcomer to a veteran: artist and gallery owner Angela Lawrence of Clience Studio in Castle Douglas (Venue 38) is taking part for the 19th year. She will be featuring a group of dusk or moonlit oils with an air of mystery about them as well as a dozen watercolours, her popular Galloway seascapes with their emphasis on light and mood and some small Hebridean paintings. You can also buy her 2023 Galloway Landscapes calendar and enter a competition to win a print.