Award-winning artist Hetain Patel invites the public to join the loudest presentation of our quiet pastimes in Swansea next February.

The much-loved Swansea Open will return to Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in 2025 in an exciting new format as part of a nationwide project, Come As You Really Are. The project, by award-winning artist and Spider-Man enthusiast Hetain Patel and Artangel, invites all makers, modifiers, crafters, collectors and artists of all kinds to share their labours of love. This year, the Swansea Open invites Swansea residents to submit their work to an annual exhibition broadening its remit, to include makers, modifiers and collectors.

The exhibition is open to anyone who lives, works or studies in the City & County of Swansea (SA1-SA9) and is a celebration of hobbies as a demonstration of our innate creativity and a vehicle for self-expression.

As in previous years, the exhibition is open to disciplines from painting, sculpture, ceramics and drawing to jewellery, metal work and textiles. This year the invitation is extended to include a broader spectrum of crafts and hobbies that could include cosplay, collecting, candle making, book-binding and much more. Whatever your passion, we want to hear from you!

The exhibition will be curated by Hetain Patel with Glynn Vivian Art Gallery and input from the gallery’s learning community groups. For a chance to participate in the exhibition, see guidelines for submitting: Submission guidelines

Commissioned and Produced by Artangel. In partnership with Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea; Factory International, Manchester; Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool; Museum of Making, Derby Museums Trust; National Festival of Making with Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery; Wolverhampton Art Gallery; Barnsley Civic; Inverness Museum and Art Gallery; Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland; CCA Derry~Londonderry; Hospitalfield, Arbroath and Tate St Ives.

Supported by Artangel’s Guardian Angels. With thanks to Creative Lives.