150 local artists show their skills in 11th annual Open Studios Tour

Get to the art of the matter during the 11th annual Open Studios Tour, during which over 150 area artists open their studios for self-guided tours on the weekends of Sept. 10-11 and 17-18.

The weekends are organized geographically, with Sept. 10-11 dedicated to studios west of Interstate 80 and Highway 99 in midtown, downtown and Curtis Park, and the second weekend is focused on studios to the east of 80 and 99, including Citrus Heights and Oak Park.

The Open Studios Tour began in 2006 as a small event focused on women and art that took place at the California Museum. The tour is now open to any artist with a studio who wishes to participate, and it has branched out to include all of Sacramento County.

“It’s starting to gain legs and grow into a bigger program than we ever had anticipated,” says Liv Moe, executive director of Verge Center for the Arts, which organizes the event. “The tour really enables people to come and connect with artists directly in a less formal experience than a gallery, and you might end up in an area of Sacramento you wouldn’t normally.”

Some prominent events this year include the Curtis Park Art Crawl running from Sept. 10 to Sept. 11 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days), in which art lovers can receive a stamp at participating studios and enter to win gift baskets filled with donated art and Track 7 beer. There will also be a live collaboration piece from Sept. 17-18, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., in front of Display: California on Broadway. For would-be artists, there will be interactive demos throughout each of the weekends on topics and techniques that include letterpress printing, bookmaking, painting and more. All events can be found in the 2016 Sac Open Studios Guide.

Tyson Anthony Roberts, a past participating artist, says he has been meeting for the past four weeks to work with local artists Matthew Mora, RLF and Andy Garcia, who are all performing the live collaboration at Display: California. They are also showing a mixed media piece at the Launch Party on Sept. 8.

“The artists’ journey is a so 'soloistic' and I wanted to take that journey and take the opportunity to combine our different styles and create a collaborative piece,” says Roberts of his inspiration to form a team during the tour.

For more information on the Open Studios Tour, visit vergeart.com.

You Might Also Like
Free Art Friday scavenger hunt launches in Sacramento
The Art of the Matter: Jeff Koons comes to Sacramento
Everything you need to know about the new performing arts center at UC Davis