How to spend a slow weekend exploring Margaret River Region Open Studios

Margaret River Region Open Studios (MRROS) is a two-week-long exhibition unlike any other. A roving feast for the eyes, this annual event gives visitors a rare opportunity to step inside the creative spaces of more than 150 artists.

During MRROS, creativity spills far beyond the studio walls. You’ll find it woven through vineyards, painted across coastal landscapes, reflected in local architecture and plated in the region’s restaurants and cellar doors. Blink, and you could miss it. Slow down – take the scenic route, explore in your own time and let curiosity lead the way – and you’ll discover so much more than what’s behind a gallery door.

Planning an art-fuelled weekend away? Here’s how we’d spend a slow weekend exploring Open Studios.

Start with the artists

Open Studios is one of few events where artists are just as much a part of the experience as the art itself. Ask about each artist’s process, hear the stories behind the pieces that catch your eye, and connect with creatives in a way that’s rarely possible in a traditional gallery setting.

Don’t worry about seeing everything. Instead, choose a handful of studios that genuinely interest you and leave room for the unexpected. After all, Open Studios rewards curiosity far more than a packed itinerary.

Fi Wilkie, Art @ Toot Studio, Margaret River

Follow the scenic route

A little planning goes a long way during Open Studios, but there’s something to be said for leaving room to change course. A quiet backroad might lead to a gallery you hadn’t noticed, a small town worth the stop, or a cellar door that never made it onto the itinerary.

Rather than rushing from one pin on the map to the next, take the roads that wind through forest, farmland and vineyard country. And if you’re not sure where to head next, ask an artist – they’ll almost always point you towards another studio worth visiting.

Katrina Buckingham, Garden Studio, Yallingup

Gather around the table

The Margaret River Region has long been known for its food and wine, and Open Studios is the perfect excuse to enjoy both. Pause for a winery lunch between studios, browse a farmers’ market, or visit a local producer before making your way home with a basket of fresh regional ingredients for dinner.

Back at the house, open the bottle you picked up from the winery that afternoon, cook with your market finds, and compare notes on the artists and studios that surprised you most. By dinner, you’ll have more than a few favourite discoveries to talk about.

Kay Gibson, Studio 13, Cowaramup

End each day somewhere inspiring

Some homes are simply where you stay. Others become part of the experience.

After a day spent exploring studios, galleries and winding country roads, there’s something special about returning to a home that’s equally considered. One that sits comfortably within its surroundings, invites you to slow down and offers its own sense of inspiration.

Whether it’s nestled amongst the trees, overlooking the coast or designed to frame the landscape beyond, the right home has a way of making the weekend feel complete. Here are five homes we think are perfectly suited to an Open Studios escape.

Explore our full collection of holiday homes that complement a slow MRROS weekend.