A collective of Bendigo's artists will throw open their studio doors to the public this weekend.
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The Bendigo Open Studios has 28 artists taking part from Saturday to Monday.
Painter-turned-sculptor Ian Dodds put the idea forward in an effort to mix with other artists from the region.
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"I put a post out on (Facebook group) BendArts because I was new to area," he said. "I moved here last year before COVID and hadn't met anyone.
"In New South Wales, I had been involved in an open studio and asked if there had ever been one in Bendigo. The idea grew from there."
Mr Dodds said people are always interested to look behind the curtain at how something is created, which makes events like open studios popular."
"I think people are always intrigued as to how art happens," he said. "There's a whole different group of artists showing this weekend including water colourists, sculptors and jewellers. People see how each artist approaches their medium."
Bendigo Open Studios promoter Wendy Collishaw said the weekend would show a variety of established and emerging artists.
"Bendigo has an amazing plethora of highly talented artists but also a breadth of emerging artists," she said. "Anyone considering this as a career for them should explore the studios.
"We have about 28 opening their studios. If we had more time, we could have added more people. Next time I think it will be bigger.,
"Some artists are creating works specifically for this event, so people will get a chance to see something the first time that no one else seen."
Mr Dodds said the last 12 months had been difficult for the arts sector, particularly people who rely on sales for an income.
"It's a hobby for me. I'm retired and sell pieces to buy more equipment," he said. "But without a doubt it has been difficult for a lot of people. Others who use it as a livelihood have been struggling."
Mr Dodds turned his focus to sculpture after looking in to how to create more three dimensional concepts.
"I am self taught in painting but wanted more three-dimensional concepts in my paintings," he said. "So I did an introduction to sculpture course in NSW to get a feel for three dimensional things and sculpture just took over."
Ms Collishaw said she hoped the event would become a regular feature to allow regional artists to exhibit more.
"There's not enough studios in Bendigo to exhibit up and coming artists," she said. "If this event happens regularly, it could be an alternative way of encouraging people to visit artists."
Bendigo open Studios is on March 6 to 8 from 10am to 4pm. Visit www.bendigoopenstudios.org to register and access maps to the artist's studios.
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