SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sac Open Studios returns for its 17th year in the Greater Sacramento area with a self-guided tour of local artists.
The program started with about 13 artists and has grown to 273 artists this year, according to Liv Moe, the executive director of Verge Centers for the Arts.
Weekend 1 is Sept. 10-11 and will be the studios west of I-80 and Weekend 2 is Sept. 17-18 and will be east of I-80. Attendance is free and people can visit as many studios as they want. The studios are open from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
"It is one of the most diverse representations of the Sacramento art community that you can imagine, and one of the coolest things about it is that anybody can register, anyone can participate," Moe said.
Kathy Kanika Marshall is an artist and author, and this is her second year participating in Sac Open Studios.
"I've gone for years and years to other people's studios, but last year I was told that it was opened up to those of us who are south of Sacramento and Elk Grove, and so I was delighted to do it," Marshall said.
Marshall said she does a lot of welding and garden art is her specialty. She plans to have five other artists at her studio during the tour.
People can buy some of the art pieces, though not required, and Marshall said there will be things to buy ranging from $5 to $5000, but mostly under $50.
"I think the thing that's so attractive about this is that artists can connect directly with their patrons and with the community. So if you want to have a show and you want to reach out and start showing people what you do, you can just do it," Moe said.
For people attending Marshall's studio, she said she has been making 10-foot tall garden art and some of the smaller ones are welded steel pieces.
"There's such positive energy and excitement when the artist actually shows you and tells you how this was made and the story behind it," Marshall said.
"We are now getting thousands and thousands of attendees every year too, so I'm just so thrilled that we are able to produce something of this scale with this kind of impact for the region every year. I mean, it just really exceeds anything that any of us could have hoped for when this all started," Moe said.
Find out more information about Sac Open Studios HERE.
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