Open Studios Fish Hoek & Clovelly returns from 9 to 11 October 2026, bringing artists, studios, exhibitions and creative spaces across the Southern Peninsula together for a weekend of art. This year, several installations and exhibitions will open early, giving visitors a chance to start exploring the programme from 1 October.
Photo: Supplied
If you enjoy discovering the people and places behind South African art, Open Studios Fish Hoek & Clovelly 2026 is worth adding to your calendar.
The annual event opens the doors of studios and creative spaces across Fish Hoek and Clovelly, offering a look at how artists work and where their ideas take shape. The 2026 programme also extends beyond traditional studios, with exhibitions, interactive installations, local businesses and community spaces becoming part of the art trail.
While the main Open Studios weekend runs from Friday 9 to Sunday 11 October, the art action starts earlier this year.
Elizabeth Vels exhibition opens at AP Jones
From Thursday 1 October, the upstairs section of AP Jones will host A Cabinet of Curiosities: Recording and Recalling a Very Long Life, an exhibition by distinguished South African artist Elizabeth Vels.
Vels recently celebrated her 89th birthday and has spent more than five decades developing a diverse artistic practice spanning ceramics, oil painting, works on paper, papermaking and artist’s books.
Born in 1937, she has held 14 solo exhibitions and is recognised as one of South Africa’s early papermakers and artist’s bookmakers, disciplines she has worked in since the late 1970s.
The exhibition brings together works from across her career, offering visitors an opportunity to see how her practice has developed while moving between fine art, craft, bookmaking and material experimentation.
Photo: Supplied
AP Jones gets an artistic makeover
The art experience at AP Jones starts before visitors even walk through the doors.
The department store’s two front windows will become large-scale installations created specifically for Open Studios Fish Hoek & Clovelly by artists Sue Kaplan and Marlise Keith, together with designer and costumier Susan Didcott.
The installations will be on display from 1 October throughout the Open Studios weekend.
One window will feature self-portraits by participating artists, creating a visual introduction to the people behind the studios and creative practices featured in this year’s programme. Hanging artworks by Kaplan and Keith will form part of the display.
In the second window, Didcott, who has worked with Cape Town Opera among others, will dress one of the store’s mannequins using mostly recycled paper and card. The result will extend the traditional shop-window display into a piece of public art.
AP Jones will also serve as a practical starting point for visitors. Special OSFHC maps, produced by local printing company Zip Print, will be available here, helping visitors plan their route between studios, exhibitions and activations.
Framed! turns a framing shop into an exhibition
At Jacqui’s Framery at 89 Main Road, three artists will give a familiar part of the art world a new role.
From Thursday 1 October, Candice Oppenheim, Gerda Smit and Nicolene Louw will transform empty picture frames and original artworks into a bespoke hanging installation.
Rather than simply displaying art within frames, the project uses the frames themselves as part of the artwork. The installation will turn the framing shop into an exhibition space while creating a conversation between art, craft, display and the everyday commercial landscape of Fish Hoek’s Main Road.
Fish Hoek Studios opens its doors
One of the new additions to the Open Studios Fish Hoek & Clovelly 2026 programme is Fish Hoek Studios, a shared artists’ studio established in 2025.
The space includes 11 individual artist studios as well as a woodworking workshop, providing workspace for contemporary artists working across different disciplines.
For Open Studios, a selection of works will be displayed in the studio’s communal area, introducing visitors to the artists and their practices while offering a glimpse into the shared environment where the work is created.
Contemporary artist Xanthe Scout Lardner-Burke will curate the exhibition, bringing an independent perspective to the presentation.
The current Fish Hoek Studios artists include Ben Stanwix, Sivan Zeffertt, Hugh Byrne, Matt Slater, Amber Moir, Brendan Murton, Tremayne Ward-Smith, Duduetsang Lamola, Matt Hazel, Carola Friess and Motelseven.
Photo: Supplied
Make your own artwork at Mothership Studios
Mothership Studios is another new addition to this year’s programme.
Founded in late 2025, the artist-led professional studio and makers’ space was created in response to a need for accessible, child-friendly and community-focused studio environments for artists in Fish Hoek.
During the Open Studios weekend, visitors can become part of a collaborative artwork.
Each visitor will receive a piece of paper and move through a series of workstations inside the studio. At each station, an artist will add a stamp to the paper.
As the visitor moves through the space, the individual marks build into a finished composition. Everyone leaves with their own completed communal artwork, creating a small record of their journey through the studio and the artists they encountered along the way.
Create a mini artwork at Peak Café
Art won’t be confined to studios during the event.
At Peak Café on Main Road, visitors can create their own mini artwork on a Post-it note and add it to a growing public exhibition.
There will also be four prizes up for grabs, with the winners decided by public vote. The Write Shoppe has supplied the Post-it notes and drawing materials.
A group exhibition featuring small works by OSFHC artists will run alongside the public artwork display.
Meet the Joyce Chevalier Protective Workshop
The Fish Hoek-based Joyce Chevalier Protective Workshop, an NPO providing sheltered employment for people with disabilities and special needs, is also part of the 2026 programme.
OSFHC sponsor Property Peninsula has employed the workshop to create beaded keyrings, which will be displayed at each studio stop.
The initiative adds a community-focused element to the art trail while giving visitors another way to engage with local makers and organisations.
Stop for coffee at Farm Shack Café
With several studios and exhibitions to visit, visitors will need somewhere to pause along the way.
Farm Shack Café on Paris Road, at False Bay Hospital in Fish Hoek, will open for the Open Studios weekend with extended hours and a special menu.
The coffee shop harvests produce from its adjacent food garden and serves fresh juices, milkshakes, coffee, sandwiches and wraps, alongside organic produce and other products.
It makes a convenient pit stop for visitors exploring the art trail and adds a food and community element to the weekend.
Open Studios Fish Hoek & Clovelly 2026 details
The growing programme reflects how the creative community in Fish Hoek and Clovelly has evolved. Instead of limiting the event to conventional galleries, Open Studios brings together individual artists, shared studios, workshops, shops, cafés and community organisations.
For visitors, that means the experience is as much about meeting artists and seeing where they work as it is about viewing finished artworks.
The main Open Studios Fish Hoek & Clovelly 2026 event takes place from 9 to 11 October, with the free public programme running on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October from 10h00 to 16h00.
There is also a paid preview on Friday 9 October in aid of breast cancer NPO Project Flamingo. Tickets are available through Quicket.
For participating venues, event information and the digital map, visit Open Studios Fish Hoek & Clovelly’s website or follow @openstudiosfishhoekclovelly on Instagram.
Open Studios Fish Hoek & Clovelly 2026: 9–11 October 2026
Free public days: 10–11 October, 10h00–16h00
Preview: 9 October, in aid of Project Flamingo
Location: Fish Hoek and Clovelly, Cape Town
Website: openstudios.org.za
ALSO SEE: Cape Town artists put pets in the spotlight
