About Us

East Finchley Open began in 2004 when a number of local artists and craftspeople held an exhibition of diverse and exciting artwork at All Saints' Church in Durham Road. The group grew quickly, with membership rising to its current level of around 50.

The ethos of the group is to encourage artists to develop and progress their art as well as to inspire and share ideas.We enjoy learning from each others' specialised skills at informal 'kitchen table' workshops and to date these have included felt making, paper making, photography, beading and ceramics. We also arrange group visits to galleries and run a lively social programme.

EFO has run Winter Fairs at Martin Primary School. It exhibits annually at the Phoenix Cinema (where we contributed to the installation of gallery lighting), it held the well-received Small is Beautiful exhibition at the Artsdepot in North Finchley, and it organises small shows in local cafes, bars and even the local police station. We also show work in our Big Tent at the East Finchley Festival in Cherry Tree Wood each June.

EFO members are also involved in community arts activities,working with Age UK and local schools.

The highlight of the EFO year is the annual summer Open House Event, when the public can view the work of members and guest artists in around 20 local houses and studios - a great oppurtunity to talk to artists about their work and even purchase a unique piece of art.

In addition EFO photographers held an Open House in East Finchley and has launched an Online Exhibition, entitled No Space Needed.

EFO is open to artists and craftspeople living in and around East Finchley and welcomes enquiries from potential new members - via the contact page.

Please feel free to download the EFO Constitution as a pdf here.