[Forum] News for the Creatively Afflicted

[Ed Sedarbaum]

PRESS RELEASE

North Adams Open Studios Announces Plans for October Exhibition

Artists are invited to register now



Contact: Sharon Carson, 664-8085

Editors: See hi-resolution logo in separate e-mail



North Adams Open Studios, the highly successful citywide art show that debuted last October, will return this year for the weekend of October 12-14, with plans for an even larger and more varied celebration of local artists. Venues will be open throughout the city - at artists' private studios and lofts, at existing galleries, and at Main Street storefront spaces donated for the weekend by local developer David Carver.

 

Fortified with some high-tech additions this year, including a Web site for informing the public and for registering artists (www.northadamsopenstudios.com), and a brochure and map showing artist locations that will be available at all points along the trail of exhibition sites, this year's organizers anticipate showing the work of 75 or more artists at as many as 5 locations. Musical performances and participatory events are also under development for the weekend.

 

Artists are urged to sign up now in order to take advantage of special benefits for early registrants. Their  work will be featured on the show's Web site and their name will be included in publicity throughout the summer. Very early registrants will have the option of a recorded interview appearing on the Web site. For complete information on deadlines or to register for the show, visit www.northadamsopenstudios.com.To request an artist application by mail, write to North Adams Open Studios, 243 Union Street, #102, North Adams, MA 01247 or telephone 413-664-8085. The registration fee is $40.

 

A Mission Statement approved by the Open Studios organizing committee this week adopted exciting goals that last year's event proved are reachable. "North Adams Open Studios is a citywide event that showcases artists working in and around North Adams," the Mission Statement declares. Last year's show brought out an estimated 500 to 600 viewers, including local residents and tourists from throughout the Northeast, to see artwork displayed in permanent and temporary galleries and private studios. For some local artists and some long-time residents, this was a first opportunity to get to know one another.

 

"Open Studios inspires and enlivens the community through the arts," the Mission Statement continues, "and grows the creative economy by drawing art lovers and tourists to North Adams and all it has to offer." The experience of local merchants on Main Street backs up this claim: "We had our most successful day of business to date," said Daniel Lester, co-proprietor of Main Street's Cup & Saucer. "We're looking forward to welcoming this year's visitors to our downtown and the entire city."

 

Open Studios is being organized by a committee of twelve volunteers that includes artists, gallery and business owners, community activists, and representatives of MCLA and the city of North Adams, and is supported in part by a grant from the Cultural Council of Northern Berkshire, a local agency supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

 

For more information, or to volunteer your help in mounting the event, the public may contact Sharon Carson, Open Studios chairperson,  at carson.carson at verizon.net or 413-664-8085.
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