A brilliant first weekend for Birmingham Open Studios

What a weekend.

Over the past few days we've watched Birmingham Open Studios come to life across the city, and it's been brilliant to see artists, venues and visitors embracing it. From trail guides in people's hands, to banners across Birmingham, right through to a 10 metre digital display on the new Allsee Technologies headquarters in Longbridge, seeing the campaign out in the real world has been pretty special.

At You Say Tomato, we had the privilege of working alongside the Birmingham Open Studios team to refresh the brand identity and develop the campaign platform, This City Makes Art. From day one, we believed the event already had everything it needed. It wasn't about reinventing it. It was about bringing clarity, confidence and a platform that celebrated the scale of Birmingham's creative community.

The response so far has been incredible. Hearing artists talk about feeling proud to be part of it, seeing venues full of visitors, and watching people explore parts of the city they may never have visited before has been exactly what Birmingham Open Studios is all about.

Of course, we couldn't resist opening our own studio too. Welcoming people into You Say Tomato and sharing Emma Woolley's latest paintings over the weekend was a real highlight. After spending months helping shape the campaign, it felt right to be part of it ourselves.

This was only the first weekend.

If you haven't been yet, there's still time. Birmingham Open Studios returns on 3 and 4 October, with artists opening their doors across the city, from the Jewellery Quarter and Digbeth to Kings Norton, Smethwick, Yardley Wood and beyond.

Go and pick up a trail guide.

You might just discover your new favourite artist.