Brighton Festival of Open Houses, Brighton

The Artists Open Houses is one of the defining events in the Brighton Calendar. Over 200 houses are turned into galleries for the weekends in May. The contents of the gallery varies enormously, it goes all the way form the handicrafts and pottery of old ladies to the Pop ART of professional artists. That is the beauty of it; it's completely democratic. No curators or dealers to edit the contents, just artists showing you what they have got. Each house pays about 200 pounds to be included and house can have anything from one artist to twenty or more.

The AOH was originally made up different "trails" each covering one area of Brighton, which meant that you needed to track down a different map for each area. There is now only one brochure which includes all of he venues, make sure you get one in the start of May; they are a precious commodity by the last weekend. http://www.aoh.org.uk/ for details.

If you live in Brighton then there is no excuse for not spending at least one afternoon snooping around somebodies gallery-cum-house. The area that has the highest concentration of high quality open houses is probably Seven Dials or Hanover.

I prefer some of the established big houses, they have built up collectives of quality artists and have a real bustle and energy about them during the festival. Plus it is no often that I get to look around a few million pounds worth of real estate..

My favourite “Ben Allens House” in Hove.

English seaside resorts are not everyone's cup of tea, but if your tastes run to something more sophisticated than kiss-me-quick hats and fish & chips, then Brighton has plenty to offer by way of more sophisticated venues. And in May, it really makes a splash on the art scene with the Brighton Festival of Open Houses.

Now in its 28th year, the festival is based upon individual people opening up their own homes as temporary art galleries for dates in the month of May. It's now a big event - there are 221 venues and a staggering 1,000 artists and makers involved, many of whom open up their own homes and studios. The venues run from grand Regency houses to humble beach huts (well, you are beside the sea).

The art is extraordinarily varied: paintings and photography predominate, but there is also plenty of sculpture, woodwork, ceramics, textiles, glass and jewellery. Styles range from classic landscape watercolours to cutting-edge sculpture from reclaimed waste. Much of the art is also available for sale (bring your cheque book - few houses have card facilities). The artists are often present if you want to discuss the work, and many venues provide a cup of tea and some home-made cake as an added temptation! The web-site gives full details of which venues are open and when, as well as useful maps.

Most of the venues are grouped together as trails, the idea being that people can walk from venue to venue at a leisurely pace. It also helps to keep the carbon footprint down - if you want to be really green, the Journey On website (www.journeyon.co.uk) will help you plot a low-carbon route: taking the car, or (better) going by bus, cycling or walking. It tells you your carbon footprint, and how many calories you will burn off if you cycle or walk! (Besides, parking in Brighton's narrow and often steep streets is simply nightmarish).

So, a combination of sea, sun and free art. What a nice way to begin the summer.