The ninth annual Arlington Visual Art Studio Tour is returning this weekend with works from nearly 60 artists.
Artists will be displaying their works and welcoming the community. Studios in South Arlington will be open on Saturday, Sept. 26, with those in North Arlington open Sunday, Sept. 27 — both days running 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
A guide and map will provide the names, locations and opening hours of participating artists. Printed copies can be obtained at community centers, arts venues and libraries for distribution, and an online version is available.
“Our reputation has grown and the visual arts have become a visual part of the community,” said David Carlson, a participating artist and cofounder of the event. “People know us and look forward to the tour every year.”
Exhibitors work in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, photography, papercutting, letterpress and jewelry.
“While there will be opportunities for visitors to purchase art, the tour is foremost a community-building event that encourages visitors to discover and appreciate the artists in their neighborhood,” organizers said.
Melanie Kehoss, a participating artist and cofounder of the event, said both the artists and public benefit from it.
“Open studios are one of the most valuable avenues for sharing my work,” she told ARLnow, adding:
“I participated in studio tours in my hometown of Ozaukee County, Wis., and then in Madison, Wis. When I moved to Arlington, I was surprised that there wasn’t a studio tour in operation. Unwilling to go without, I started the Greater Westover Studio Tour in 2016, and during the 2017 tour, David Carlson suggested that we expand.”
The first countywide open-studio tour was held in 2018, and has continued uninterrupted since, going “virtual” for a year during Covid.
Carlson was serving on the Arlington Commission for the Arts when the opportunity to create a countywide event presented itself.
“I had been to the Washington Project for the Arts open studios back in the early 1990s, and realized people coming into the studio was great for relationship-building,” he said.
The event is complemented by an exhibition at Marymount University’s Barry Gallery. “Off the Grid” brings together works through Oct. 29.
Sponsors of the arts tour include Fred Schnider Investment Group, Gerald & Katherine Freshley and Palette 22.
Elisabeth Rhyne serves as event director, and said that it has grown to attract upwards of 2,000 attendees each year.
Despite the amount of work involved, organizers said they like the niche the annual weekend offers to artists and the community.
“We are still independent and artist-run,” Kehoss said. “I often talk with artists from other parts of the DMV about how they wish their city had an event like this. I tell them: If you want it, start it!”
