The Cut Open
Date: December 2025
Exhibition/Show Type:
Group
Media: Mixed Media, Multidiscipline
Exhibition Description
The Cut Open exhibition is held every year in December/January. All works submitted are included in the show.
We recently received this Panegyric on the 2025 show.
It is from an artist (who wishes to be known only as an elderly contributor) who has exhibited in the show for many years, and sets out well how appreciated The Cut Open exhibition is.
A Panegyric on the Cut Open
The Cut Open is a wonderful annual Art Event during Christmas and New Year at Halesworth in East Anglia. For anyone who does not know about this event, I will explain why it is wonderful:
Firstly, because of its longevity. The Cut Open has been held for 20 years or so. Very few such events last. To succeed they need an available public space plus a group of enthusiasts who will devote themselves to making it happen, so as to to provide an annual coming together of artists and their friends – ‘Audience’ would suggest passivity, which is not what you find here. A whole generation has grown from childhood to maturity, cheered on its way by this annual event.
Secondly, because the nature of the Open is very special. Unlike most such events, it is uncompetitive. No work is rejected. So far, over 20 years, everything that has been submitted has been hung up on the walls and shown. And remarkably, there has been a reciprocity between the number of works submitted and the available wall space. No-one is judged, either for what they are doing, or for the company they keep. There is room for all approaches and styles, and there is an irrepressible sense of fun, which punctures pomposity. There is no ‘House Style’. This is a positive event in a world of skrating negativity.
Thirdly, because The Cut, which is an Arts Centre/café/informal meeting place in spite of an endless struggle for existence, and for support which in other European countries would be regarded as axiomatic, is a centre for all the Arts and for people in general is actually there and available.
This year’s event is as various and vigorous as ever – it’s a grand show. Don’t take my word for it. Go see! Enjoy!
