Chichester art trail goes online amid coronavirus outbreak

Chichester Open Studios Art Trail will be going ahead this year – albeit in different form.
Nicola HancockNicola Hancock
Nicola Hancock

You can’t now visit the artists physically, but you can certainly enjoy their art on the trail’s website at http://www.chichesterarttrail.org.

In a ghastly year for everyone, clearly the trail can’t possibly exist in physical form.

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But the saving grace is that you can still explore the art and take as much time as you like doing so. The difference is that you will be doing it virtually.

By the time she felt obliged to cancel the physical trail, organiser Nicola Hancock had already got the trail’s website up and running.

And that website still stands – a great way to enjoy some of the art and all of the artists from the comfort and safety of your own home in a time of worsening national crisis.

The 2020 Open Studios Art Trail would have been the biggest yet with 177 artists exhibiting a wide range of work across 147 venues in and around the city of Chichester during the first two weekends in May. But that “biggest” tag still stands. The website, now up and running, offers a comprehensive view of the entire trail. You can even follow online the trails you can’t now follow on foot or by car. The artists are divided into Peninsula, Regis, City, Downs and Harbour Trails.

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“It is just a website now, but the website is beautiful. It has got everyone’s work on there in various categories and everybody has got a page that is like a mini website for them with links through to their own platform. It is all there to enjoy.”

Even so, Nicola still admits she felt “raw” when she cancelled the actual trail, due to have happened for five days in May (Saturday and Sunday, May 2 and 3; and Bank Holiday Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 8, 9 and 10).

“When I told the artists, some people said about just postponing it, but I can’t just find another date and convene 177 artists in 147 venues.

“I had managed to get the trail to grow like billy-o. I have slogged my guts out on this for months.

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“I thought at one point that if one artist wanted to open and one visitor wanted to visit, then that would be fine, but when I thought about it, I realised it would have been completely irresponsible to promote that. I certainly couldn’t do that under the umbrella of the trail. The trail would have been a great way of spreading the virus from one place to another. I can’t let that happen even if artists were as angry as hell with me.”

The majority have been completely understanding: “But I can’t give them a refund. All the money has been spent. Fortunately, I had all clauses in saying that there are no refunds under any circumstances.”

The money has gone. 23,000 brochures have been printed. A significant sum has already been spent on the brochures, the graphic designer and various professional help.

“One person said I could carry their money over to next year, but I can’t do that. I have to start clean. Next year will need the same investment.”

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One consolation is that Nicola is sure she won’t have a problem getting artists back for next year: “They will have a lot more work to show. I think they will be even more keen to have visitors next year.” And another consolation for this year is the fact that visitors can start viewing straight away. There is no need to wait until the start of May to enjoy the huge range of work on offer online.

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