4 May 2009 Ned Hoskins

The bank holiday monday after the first weekend of 'artists open house' is the first chance in weeks to relax.
So we went to see one of the very few houses that were open for the whole three day weekend. A cracking house in Hove called 'Collectors Selection. I recommend it.
In the evening we went to Ned Hoskins 'sponsor party'. [See todays picture of Ned with one of his paintings]. Ned has a special status because 28 years ago he founded the whole concept of an artist showing their work in their own house as part of the Brighton Festival.
The sponsor party tradition stems from the earlier days of the growing Fiveways Artists Group. We artists realised how difficult it was to actually see each others exhibition because we each had to be at home manning our own show. So we took it in turns to host a midweek evening party for fellow exhibitors, plus this was a good chance to say thank-you to the generous sponsors who paid for our advertising and printed brochure. The sponsors were invited to bring their guests to the private parties.
The tradition continues but nowadays it often gets all mixed up with 'private views' where special customers and friends and neighbours swell the ranks.