Open Studios Art Tour 2022

The 36th annual Open Studios Art Tour is taking place as usual during the first three weekends in October, bigger and better, featuring 321 artists across Santa Cruz County.

It’s free, as usual, and you pick which artists you want to visit. Get a free copy of the guide listing all the artists.

• North County artists were Oct. 1 & 2.
• South County artists are Oct. 8 & 9.
• On Oct. 15 & 16, the encore weekend, 268 artist studios are open.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Here is what’s new:

A new symbol in the guide indicates 45 artists participating for the first time. So, even if you’ve attended Open Studios in the past, you haven’t seen their work.

About 40 artists are requesting attendees wear a mask in their home studios for Covid safety so there is a new symbol for “Mask Required.”

All the participating artists received a lime-green KN95 mask – promoting the event in the same color as the lime-green signs for each artist’s studio.

Another new symbol in the guide indicates the artist speaks Spanish.

The Santa Cruz Art League at 526 Broadway, Santa Cruz, hosted a preview party — the first since 2019 — for more than 300 Open Studios artists and that exhibit is open the public through Oct. 16. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday and 6-8 p.m. on First Friday, Oct. 7.

It’s a great way to discover artists and plan your tour from there. Pop into the gallery, find artwork that intrigues you, and make a note of which studios you want to visit.

If that doesn’t fit your schedule, check out the virtual preview, created by Pajaro Valley Arts, from the convenience of your own home: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=aNu4AFtwnGT

Or look for Open Studios on Instagram or Facebook at @openstudios.scc

Neighbors, friends, collectors, and art lovers are invited to meet the artists, see their creative process up close, and buy art directly from the source.

“Santa Cruz County is a magnet for creative people. The Open Studios Art Tour is a moment when that creativity becomes visible, when artists in every neighborhood throughout the County open their doors to art-lovers, neighbors and friends,” said Ann Ostermann, Open Studios director for Arts Council Santa Cruz County, which launched the event in 1986 and reports the arts generate $32 million of local economic activity annually. “It takes a lot of planning and nerve on the part of participating artists, and it’s a joy to see it pay off with art sales and new relationships formed, old friends reunited, and neighbors getting to know each other.”

She added, “We know that art changes lives.”

More artists applied this year, 390, compared to the usual 350, and 85% were accepted, the usual percentage.

“We decided to err on the side on inclusion,” Ostermann said.

Those not accepted received feedback and are welcome to apply next year.

Not all artists have studios that are their work spaces.

“We don’t want that to be a barrier to participating,” Ostermann said. “So we have a few artists who will be hosting Open Studios in pop-up spaces, either at galleries like Pajaro Valley Arts or hosted by other Open Studios artists. One of them is our cover artist, Hermelinda Vasquez-Matias, artist #318.”

Find photos and more at bit.ly/openstudios-2022pr

The dividing line between North and South County is the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor. So you can drive as much or as little as you want.

If you’re interested in rural studios, visit the preview exhibit Oct. 1-16 at the R. Blitzer Gallery in Santa Cruz, featuring work by artists in Bonny Doon, Corralitos, and Felton.

If you attend, you will see a vibrant sector of the local economy up close – and make connections in the creative community.

As Ostermann put it, in Santa Cruz the arts “are one of the most powerful vehicles for bringing people together, creating community dialogues, and strengthening relationships.”