Svitlana Ahranovska

The Open Doors project is an installation consisting of imitation doorways with photographs of artists’ studios, creating the illusion of a glimpse into the creative space The need for the open studio format arose from the idea of making art accessible and understandable to the general public. Usually, the main guests of an artist’s studio are people with a professional interest interested in buying or collaborating: curators, gallerists, collectors, customers.

In contrast, we came up with the idea of creating a democratic format called Open Studios, which is a link between the viewer and the artist himself. When we open the doors of our studios, each room is already a separate exhibition that can be visited by anyone: a connoisseur, a beginner, a casual passerby, or an expert. A studio is the most artistic point in space, a place where art is both created and preserved. Therefore, the Open Workshop Day is not only an opportunity to look into the creative space, but also has a significant impact on understanding how an artist’s thought and work is formed.

This project is a presentation of the context in which a certain stratum of contemporary artists exists, a story about an art studio as a room that bears the imprint of the artist’s personality. It is this imprint that is symbolised by the doorways, which, from a remote distance, create the illusion of being able to enter a new space.