About Spring Fling
Spring Fling is a vibrant visual art and craft open studios event covering the length and breadth of Dumfries and Galloway in South West Scotland. It is highly regarded as one of the UK’s most successful contemporary visual art and craft events. Spring Fling is delivered by Upland, the visual art and craft development organisation for Dumfries & Galloway.
Every year selected professional artists and makers throw open the doors of their studios over the late May Bank Holiday weekend. Visitors can get behind the scenes of artistic practice, experience artists and makers demonstrating and explaining their processes and inspirations, and have the opportunity to buy a piece of art direct from the maker. Each studio experience is unique: every artist is different, but each will offer a meaningful insight into the inner workings of their creative life.
In addition to the open studios, over the Spring Fling weekend visitors can enjoy a number of extra events and happenings. These have included such projects as EDGE; Spring Fling Rural Mural (SFRM); and Spring Shows, a series of local, national and international exhibitions. And visitors can studio-hop the green way on one of the Spring Fling Bus Tours.
In its first 21 years, Spring Fling attracted over 174,000 visitors who made around 546,000 studio visits. Over £10.2 million of art and craft was bought in studios and the event brought over £17.5 million to the local economy.
We commissioned D&G-based photographer and filmmaker Colin Tennant to produce a short film for the 2022 event to mark and celebrate Spring Fling’s 20th year. It showed as part of the SF at 20 Exhibition at the Gracefield Arts Centre, and can now be seen here:
Evolution and development – UPLAND
In autumn 2015 Spring Fling CIC evolved to become Upland CIC, a bold, ambitious, rural-based visual art and craft development organisation.
Spring Fling Open Studios continues as Upland’s flagship event but we now offer a year-round programme delivering a range of projects, events and exhibitions working with young people as well as emerging and established artists and makers.
Upland aims to provide a network for learning and sharing, offering advice and support to creative practitioners whilst aiming to inspire and educate a wide range of audiences to participate in and be supportive of visual arts and crafts.
As a membership organisation we work to create opportunities that connect our artists and makers with audiences, communities and each other. With a strong sense of place, we aim to highlight and celebrate our unique region and its creative community, raising its profile in a national and international context.
Upland does not have a venue: we deliver a dispersed programme across the region. Our team works from an office at Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries.
Visit www.weareupland.com for information about Upland CIC, its projects, opportunities and how to become an Upland Member.
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