Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Arts Foundation’s annual Open Studio Tours will look a bit different this year.
The free tours, which have been around for more than 10 years and normally invite Tucsonans into the studios of local creatives, will take place virtually this year from Nov. 27 to Dec. 6. Artists can register to be part of the tours through Nov. 20.
“The Arts Foundation had to get creative and brainstorm how we were going to keep Open Studio Tours running this year while balancing our responsibility to keep both artists and the community safe,” Adriana Gallego, the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona’s executive director, said in a news release. “Pivoting online has allowed us to continue the event despite the challenges that the ongoing pandemic poses.”
Artists already on board include fiber artist Tamara Scott-Anderson, glass artist Mary Sherwood and painter James Larson.
The Arts Foundation says that, ultimately, the goal is that studio visitors will “consider supporting the local art community when purchasing gifts for the holidays.”
“As a proud member of Local First Arizona — a nonprofit organization that celebrates independent, locally owned businesses — for over a decade, I have learned so much about the huge impact that our spending dollars have,” local artist Kira Geddes said in the release. “Whether buying a small treat for yourself or a big gift for a friend, when you purchase from a local artist, you are reinvesting your own money into our local economy instead of watching those dollars fly away to a corporation somewhere.
“Open Studio Tours has been an amazing opportunity for me to connect with neighbors and other artists, to teach and learn, and to feel a part of our thriving art community.”
Visit ost.artsfoundtucson.org for more information and a full list of studio tours.
