The second annual Pentlands Open Studios (POSt) Art Trail took place over the weekend of 15–16 August, weaving through the villages of Balerno, Currie, Juniper Green and Colinton — and we want to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved from the bottom of our hearts for making it such a successful, enjoyable and rewarding event.

The hard work and enthusiasm of our 24 wonderful artists and makers, plus Tiphereth Print Studio, our 12 venue hosts, and our fantastic volunteers together created a very special experience for our visitors.

The numbers behind the weekend

We’re delighted to say our visitor numbers grew by around 40% since our first Art Trail last year — from roughly 500 unique visitors in 2025 to an estimated ~700 this year — despite running in parallel with the world’s largest arts festival in Edinburgh.

The early feedback backs this up: every visitor who’s responded to our survey so far rated their experience the full 5 out of 5, and more than half told us they went home with a piece of art. Visitors ranged across the whole trail too, with many making it to several venues — some visiting all twelve.

Our artists are buzzing too, having met and talked to so many engaging people over the weekend who showed a genuine interest in their work and creative process. As one artist put it after meeting fellow trail-goers at our post-trail get-together:

“It builds something beyond a professional network — it creates a community.”

That’s really what the Art Trail is all about: forging inspiring connections, locally and beyond, between artists and makers and the public. Our swelling visitor numbers and levels of engagement are a testament to the successful delivery of that vision — and visitors feel it too:

“A great sense of community — getting to see studios and hear about the working lives of artists.”

A warm welcome to our new venues

We were delighted to welcome some new venues to the Art Trail this year, including Juniper Green Village Hall, which immediately became one of our busiest spots. Here, visitors could meet and talk to five artists sharing the space, then relax and enjoy delicious home-baked treats at the new pop-up café, where every penny raised went to supporting the wonderful charity Community For Food.

The artists who shared that space found it just as rewarding as visitors did:

“Loved being with the four other artists. Definitely feel we will keep in touch.”

Can’t wait until next year?

If you’re missing the trail already, four of our POSt 2026 artists are taking to the stage sooner than that. As part of the Pentlands Book Festival, Martha Ellis, Sue Shields, Marianne Hazlewood and Anne Gatherar will each share a fast-paced, image-led talk about their process and work — on Thursday 19 November, 7.30pm, at Baberton Golf Club, 55 Baberton Avenue, Juniper Green EH14 5DU. Expect punchy storytelling, plenty of visuals, and a bar open for informal chat afterwards. Full details: pentlandsbookfestival.org/artist-talks.

Help us shape next year

Every year we run a visitor survey to understand how to improve the event experience going forward — it’s still open, so if you haven’t already, please take a few minutes to share your thoughts: tinyurl.com/postvfb26.

If you supported us this year with a donation through our Crowdfunder, thank you — every pound was matched, so your generosity went twice as far. And if you’d like to help us keep going, you can still support us here: crowdfunder.co.uk/p/postudios2026.

Our Prize Draw has now taken place and winners have been notified — they’ll each be choosing which artist to spend their prize with. Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to everyone who took part!

We look forward to seeing you all again next year.

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Organiser: Pentlands Arts Festivals CIC Supported by: Creative Scotland Website: postudios.org Instagram: @pentlandsopenstudios Hashtag: #postudios2026