POSE – Portsmouth Open Studios Event is a citywide urban arts trail running 24–26 October 2025. For one weekend, artists across Portsmouth open their doors, inviting the public into studios, homes, pop-up spaces, and galleries to experience art where it’s made.​Visitors can explore artists’ processes, join workshops*, watch demonstrations, talk with makers about their practice, and buy or commission something unique directly.

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POSE artists range from Art Academics, members of the Royal Societies of Art, Architecture, Painting and Printmaking through to very early stage career artists or those with a love of art and simply want to share their work with you. All in a fully supportive environment of artists supporting artists.

It’s also a chance to book future workshops and keep the creativity going. ​This year, Stagecoach and First Bus are supporting POSE with mapped routes across the city—so look out for buses, poetry, and art along the way. And you could be part of this too, with "The Between the Stops" Poetry competition (deadline September 22nd) and "The Between the Stops" Photography competition (Deadline 29th September).

But POSE only comes alive when you visit.  Your curiosity, your conversations, and your presence make the event matter.

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More than an arts trail, POSE is a free community celebration of creativity. From the Historic Dockyard to living rooms, POSE brings together painters, ceramicists, printmakers, sculptors, photographers, textile artists, illustrators, installation artists, animators, performance artists, musicians, and more—showcasing the city’s extraordinary breadth of talent.  Learn more about who is getting their POSE ready below.