Meet the artists behind the art at Open Studio Weekend 2016

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Artists from all over Louisville will open their doors Nov. 5 and 6 for Open Studio Weekend 2016. The event gives anyone who appreciates art -- from enthusiasts to collectors -- the opportunity to step inside participating studios where they can interact with artists and personally experience how and where local art is made. They may see artists at work, get a glimpse of the process of making art, and in some cases, take advantage of studio sales.

Now in its fourth year, the event has become so popular, with more than 20,000 visits to studios last year, event organizers have added a new opportunity. This year, the Open Studio Weekend Exhibition at the Cressman Center for Visual Arts will be juried. Three regionally renowned curators are judging the show: Kate Bonansinga, director of the School of Art in the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning at University of Cincinnati; Matt Distel, exhibitions director for The Carnegie in Covington and adjunct curator for the Cincinnati Art Museum; and Max Weintraub, galleries director at Indiana University’s Herron School of Art & Design. 

Open Studio Weekend is sponsored by the University of Louisville Hite Art Institute and Louisville Visual Art (LVA) and all proceeds from the weekend tour benefit the Mary Spencer Nay scholarship at UofL and Children’s Fine Art Classes through LVA.

The event launch party is from 6-8 p.m. Nov. 4 at the Cressman Center, 100 N. Main St. Open Studio is 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 5 and noon-5 p.m. Nov. 6. The cost is $20 or $10 for students, art educators, seniors and LVA members. The fee allows participants to visit as many studios as they like and includes a nearly 50-page studio guide with area maps, suggested routes, artist locations, information and images of artists’ work. An event phone app is also available. Purchase tickets at the Cressman Center, LVA or online.

For more information, contact Chris Reitz, Hite’s director of galleries, at chris.reitz@louisville.edu or Sarah Davis, director of marketing and communications at Louisville Visual Art, at 502-584-8166 Ex. 105 or sarah@louisvillevisualart.org.