Artists Open Houses 2025: Visit Adam Johnson and Dan Mackey in their Brighton home studio (EXCLUSIVE)
"It’s a joyful way for me and Dan to exhibit and meet customers that can see where everything is made,” Johnson tells Attitude
Artists across Brighton will be opening up their homes and studios and turning them into retail galleries this May for the biannual Artists Open House event, and husbands Adam Johnson and Dan Mackey are excited to be welcoming the public into their home on 11 Rugby Road again. They have been making and selling ceramics together for many years now.
“I’ve been taking part for 11 years, ever since I started dating Adam, who has Open Housed since 2009. I was living in London at the time and travelling down to Brighton to be creative and it felt like where I wanted to be permanently,” Mackey tells Attitude.
“Adam was my first boyfriend who enjoyed art and design too and we are still enjoy working together on this strange and amazing festival where you invite art lovers into your home.”
You may recognise Adam Johnson from his cracking run on the fourth series of Channel 4’s The Great Pottery Throw Down or the BBC’s Big Gay Wedding with Tom Allen, in which Johnson married Mackey.
Or you might have spotted him on the Attitude 101 2025 list as a trailblazer in the arts.
In 2021, Johnson capitalised on his newfound fame and launched Adam Ceramic, offering his and Mackey’s clay creations to his fanbase.
“We consciously made it so that we spend our days together working across all aspects of being self-employed artists, and our skill sets work in synchronicity,” Johnson says. “Most potters have quite a solitary time in a studio, so I’m glad I get to share it all with Dan and Egg, our pug.”
It’s no secret that retail is hard, and it is difficult to make those personal connections that drive sales through a website. But Brighton’s Artists Open House event has been a financial lifeline for Johnson and Mackey.
“There’s nothing like an in-person sale when I can chat to someone, and they get to touch my piece before taking it home. It’s a joyful way for me and Dan to exhibit and meet customers that can see where everything is made,” Johnson explains.
Mackey reveals what they have planned for this year’s Open House, “We’ve taken lots of inspiration from woodland and beach walks with our dog Egg. So, our garden is open and filled with ‘pick your own’ ceramic mushrooms and garden sculptures blending in with the spring plants that have popped up. Inside we always love displays that are just as fun as the artwork – packing the place with personality. No stuffy gallery vibes here.”
From their home studio in Brighton, the couple make full use of social media to promote their wares. “It can sometimes feel like a minefield, spending hours trying to make a good reel to showcase my work, and then the algorithm decides to hide it – or send it far and wide if you’re lucky – and I have been incredibly lucky with some of my videos,” says Johnson, before admitting that it is a balancing act.
“Pottery is a quite traditional field too, so I dance across a line of being a proud gay and a potter, making a conscious decision to be completely me because our work is from our hands and our hearts. This approach has helped me create a really encouraging, friendly social community.”
You can visit their Artists Open House at 11 Rugby Road, Brighton, BN1 6EB
For more information visit Brighton’s Artists Open House