You enter first with the thought “Should I be in here, am I allowed in here? this is someones house after all so it seems wrong to just enter but at the same time Im here for the art….”
You processed further, along the corridor half expecting to be kicked out at anytime. Still unsure if you are allowed to be there. Then you enter the living room or the kitchen, wherever they have the exhibition.
A welcoming hello and a polite word or two and you feel accepted. You begin to realex and look around the stunning home, at the fantastic art on display there. It feels funny looking at art in someones house. There is a school of thought that says to be art it must be in an art gallery. I don’t subscribe to such thoughts, nether do most people in my experience. Certainly no one in Made in Roath does or we wouldn’t be holding the Open Houses every year during the festival.
Open houses is one of the most popular aspects of Made in Roath and is an example of the community coming together. People open their homes and let people in to show art. The art comes from a variety of sources around the community, from the home owners or friends. From commissioned artists or parts of much larger projects.
The Open Houses exhibition program is always an exciting and interesting aspect of the festival. Even through after almost five years of going to Made in Roath and enjoying many wonderful Open Houses, Im still terrified about walking through the door and discovering I’ve gone into the wrong house. At least its something I haven’t managed to do yet.