For two weeks in September, art lovers from across the country get a once-per-year chance to visit the private art studios of over 140 artists in Margaret River as part of Australia’s largest open studios event. Last year was the tenth year of Margaret River Region Open Studios (MRROS), with 145,000 studio visits made by 15,000 visitors. This year is looking bigger and better, with 31 new artists and the highest number of Indigenous artists in the event’s history.
MRROS is a unique opportunity to engage with talented local artists in their own space and learn more about their motivations, creative processes and techniques. Studios are setup in family homes, including hay sheds and cow barns, purpose-built idylls, converted water tanks, sea containers and renovated train carriages.
Planning your trip
Studios are spread across the Margaret River region from Busselton to Augusta, a distance of over 100km, so to make the most of each day you need to plan ahead. Make sure you pick up a hard copy of the MRROS Event Guide, which includes detailed maps. You can find a guide to all the artists on the MRROS website with maps available for downloading, which is useful as Margaret River has hit and miss internet access.
If you don’t have somewhere to stay, you need to book your accommodation in advance as the best hotels and chalets sell out. Popular restaurants are also important to book in advance.
Meet the artists
The artists in Margaret River cover a wide range of mediums, giving you a unique chance to see the clay take shape on the wheel, the kilns firing, printing presses cranking, precious metals melded, glass blown, wood carefully carved, and the vibrant colours of oil paints daubed on palettes. Here is a sample of the art on offer at the MRROS event for 2024.
1. Printmaking
There are 11 printmakers at this year’s MRROS, including internationally acclaimed printmaker Leon Pericles AM.
Leon has been contributing to Australian visual arts for over 55 years and was recognised a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours. He has held over 160 solo exhibitions worldwide, including a colossal exhibition of more than 500 artworks and a showing at Italy’s Accademia di Belle Arti in Bologna, where there is a privileged history of traditional printmaking. His studio in Margaret River features exhibitions and educational initiatives suited for all art enthusiasts. See some of his art below.
2. Photography
This year there are 11 photographers opening their doors, including the highly acclaimed Russell Ord, who is known for striking surf and ocean photography, as well as Western Australia’s leading landscape photographer Christian Fletcher.
Christian has a rare talent for capturing a vast range of photography, from classic landscapes to contemporary aerial work and altered landscapes. With a career spanning 30 years and galleries in the Southwest for 20 years. His gallery in Dunsborough invites visitors to explore his extensive collection, including large, framed pieces, books, textiles and limited editions.
This year, as with the past few years, Christian is hosting a collaborative exhibition with twenty-three other local artists. Each artist is interpreting their chosen Christian Fletcher photograph in their own style and medium, including works on oils, acrylics, felt, clay, glass, timber, resin, wood, textiles and jewellery. Check out some of his photography below.
3. Jewellery
There are sixteen jewellers with open studios and pieces for sale, including award-winning metalsmith John Miller. Renowned for his distinctive hand-punched and engraved designs, John has been the ‘rebel of the jewellery industry’ since he discovered metalwork by chance over fifty years ago.
John is now the founder of Australia’s leading jewellery workshop and a Fellow of the Gold and Silversmiths Guild of Australia, awarded only to jewellers of a consistently high standard. His jewellery is renowned for its focus on storytelling, often inspired by landscapes of the Southwest and the Kimberley. John maintains a pride in using traditional metal working techniques no longer taught in the classroom, which he passes on to apprentice jewellers and demonstrates to visitors during Open Studios. See some of his jewellery below.
4. Ceramics
This year there are 18 incredible ceramicists bringing their own unique style, including renowned artist Ian Dowling.
Founder of Margaret River Pottery, Ian is known for intricately designed functional pots, decorative pieces and large-scale sculptures featuring patterns that reflect local landscapes. His creations range from intricate porcelain teacups to monumental public artworks across Australia. After almost fifty years working with ceramics, Ian’s techniques have evolved to emphasize rhythmic surfaces and sustainability by using local materials and high-temperature wood firing. The work displayed at MRROS in 2024 includes decorative, sculptural and functional pots.
5. Glass
Glasswork is mesmerising to watch and the 2024 MRROS features 7 artists welcoming the public to demonstrate and even teach their craft. This year’s most notable glass artist is Gerry Reilly, a free-formed glass artist so talented that he’s referred to as an ‘alchemist.’
For over 35 years, Gerry has welcomed visitors into Melting Pot Glass Studio in the town of Margaret River, where his vibrant creations include landscape-inspired sculptures to practical stemless glasses. This year guests can try their hand at glassmaking, witness demonstrations and admire his displays where they sit amidst kangaroo-filled valleys.
6. Textiles
This year there are 13 textile artists including Deanne Haddow, whose artwork portrays Margaret River’s natural environment by pairing hand-printed and indigo-dyed textiles with intricately painted designs.
As a TAFE lecturer in visual arts for over 18 years, her studio serves as an educational space where each medium collaborates with each other. Visitors to her studio expect an immersive experience, fuelled by her dedication to nurturing new perspectives and skills. See her art below.
7. Painting
The most popular medium among artists and buyers, the 2024 MRROS features almost 100 painters. While we couldn’t possibly do them all justice, a notable name is ‘walking masterpiece’ Chole Wilder.
While working in marine research, Chole found solace in painting weathered road signs into vibrant expressions of creativity. She enrolled in the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and developed a style that explored the female portrait and the intimate connection between artist and muse. Wilder uses vivid and detailed painting techniques in conjunction with ancestral crafts like weaving and ceramics to explore the role of women within nature and history. This year she’s even hosting painting and basket weaving workshops at her studio in Margaret River town.
8. Sculpture
There are 32 sculptors this year, including Indigenous artist Jo ‘Bear’ Shiell who explores self-expression through various mediums.
Jo developed her signature art mode when studying studio ceramics in the 90s, developing a style that featured a harmonious blend of clay, wrought iron, Perspex, glass, wood and natural materials. Her recent ‘Ancestral Colours’ series using ceramics and mixed media to explore the interplay of family heritage and cultural diversity. Her works provoke introspection, inviting viewers to contemplate the past, present, and future threads that bind us.
9. Mixed media
This year features 37 mixed media artists, including Misty Cannings who creates vibrant art pieces of different styles and themes, including abstract, portraiture and underwater life.
Over the past five years, Misty Cannings has cultivated a diverse body of work inspired by the Pilbara and the ocean, including a luminescent series of underwater creatures, original Gyotaku fish ink prints and vibrant abstracts with intricate patterns. Her own ‘pop-art portraiture’ technique blends bold images of nature and human form with delicate intricacy.
