The Artists Welcome You

If practice makes perfect, the Open Studio Tour’s nearly 24-year run means this annual arts event can’t get any better, right? Not so fast. Thanks to new virtual tools available this year, attendees can now plot out tour stops with ease. Decide which studios you’d like to visit, and simply chart a path online using the Tucson Pima Arts Council’s website or download the app available online through The Arizona Daily Star.

Local artists open their creative spaces during this free, weekend event November 12-13, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. A staggering 217 studios all over town (and some as far as Green Valley), from transformed garages and galleries to multiple-artist warehouses, welcome visitors to observe, ask questions and enjoy a firsthand view of the creative process. The Jewish Community Center, 3800 E. River Rd., hosts a preview exhibit through November 9, with a reception that evening from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

After 11 years of participating in the studio tour, it’s clear painter Gavin Hugh Troy relishes having contact with those interested in the local art scene. “The tour has always been an incredibly positive experience for me,” he explains. “For artists to get that rare chance to open up their workspace, really share the creative process with the public, is rewarding to say the least.”

Troy and many of the other artists in the downtown-area collective Citizens Artists Warehouse, 44 W. 6th St., look forward to answering questions and interacting with visitors.

Far from the concentration of downtown artists, woodturner Lynne Yamaguchi knows none of the tour attendees she sees in her eastside studio are accidental.

“There aren’t a lot of other participating artists near me, so in the years I’ve been part of the tour, visitors I get tend to be specifically interested in my work,” she says. In the local art scene, Yamaguchi is one of the few in her medium, making for quite a fascinating demonstration. And worth making a mess: “My studio is always full of sawdust, so when I clean it up for the tour I’m hesitant to mess it up again,” she laughs, “but people like seeing how the turning is done.”

Whether you’ve already spotted your favorite painters and sculptors on the program, or you’re out to learn about some new-to-you local artists, the Tucson Pima Arts Council’s Fall Open Studio Tour promises an educational and inspiring weekend activity.

Visit TucsonPimaArtsCouncil.org for all the details.