Birmingham Open Studios 2025: Live Portrait Painting at • nook • gallery & studios

I’m taking part in Birmingham Open Studios 2025 across four dates at • nook • gallery & studios, Kings Heath. I’ll be opening up my process, showing recent portrait work, and doing live painting demos on both weekends.

Visit details

• Where: • nook • gallery & studios, 25c Institute Rd, Birmingham, West Midlands, B14 7EY, United Kingdom

• Dates:
  Sat 20 Sept
  Sun 21 Sept
  Sat 27 Sept
  Sun 28 Sept

What to expect

I’m a multidisciplinary artist based in Birmingham, working from YST Studios in the Custard Factory. My practice spans expressive portraiture, painting, and design, exploring human emotion, connection, and inner worlds through immersive visual storytelling.
Blending traditional techniques with contemporary design sensibilities, my work invites viewers into moments of intimacy and wonder, often centring on the human face as a vessel for feeling and the unseen stories beneath. I’m also a Senior Art Director at You Say Tomato, where a research-led approach to brand storytelling runs in parallel with my studio practice.

Why Birmingham Open Studios matters

Birmingham Open Studios throws open doors across the city so people can meet artists where the work is made. It builds community, makes art more accessible, and turns quiet studio practice into conversation. For visitors, it’s a chance to ask questions, see process up close, and discover new work. For artists, it’s a rare opportunity to connect directly with people who are curious about how and why the work comes to life.

Live Art Demonstrations: Yes — I’ll be painting live on both weekends.

Official listing: Birmingham Open Studios — Emma Woolley