East Bay Open Studios offers a rare opportunity for arts fans of all ages to meet local artists, explore new neighborhoods and discover new art of many disciplines and genres. Over 400 hundred artists will open their studios to art adventurers across the East Bay. At many studios, the artists serve beverages and delicious snacks, such as wine, juice, bottled water, and artisan cheeses.
“East Bay Open Studios lets people dig deep to find remarkable and unexpected creative spaces,” says Margo Dunlap, Executive Director of Pro Arts, the non-profit organization that has produced East Bay Open Studios for four decades. “You can visit large industrial studio complexes and live-work spaces that are bursting with activity. Or you can find studio gems in people’s homes: a darkroom under a staircase, print room in a garage, or living room dedicated to drafting. The amazing thing about this event is every Open Studios adventure will be different.”
PLAN YOUR OPEN STUDIOS EXPERIENCE
OPEN STUDIOS HAPPY HOUR
First Friday, June 5, 6:00-8:00 p.m. PDT
View art, mix with Open Studios artists, and enjoy happy hour, $2 for beer
OPEN STUDIOS, WEEKEND ONE
June 6 & June 7, 11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. PDT
OPEN STUDIOS, WEEKEND TWO
June 13 & June 14, 11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. PDT
For more information, visit the ProArts Gallery web site.
- Use the Directory of East Bay Arts
to view artist listings, maps of open studio locations… and start planning your self-guided tour! Find a copy at Pro Arts’ gallery,
participating outlets, or as an insert in the June issue of The Monthly.
- View the expanded Artist Gallery and Maps.
“The fun thing about this event is that going here and there exposes things that are ordinarily invisible.”
— Leonardo Online
Our Creative Sage™ studio/office building, the Kawneer Building (also known as the Sawtooth Building, due to the jagged sawtooth shape of its roof), located in West Berkeley, is a central point in the East Bay Open Studios event. There are a number of prominent artists of all genres working there, including visual/fine artists, writers, musicians, composers, filmmakers, sound designers, photographers, web designers, graphic artists, illustrators, theatre artists, dancers, ceramicists, woodworkers, jewelers, and more. There are also a number of interesting, arts-related small businesses and nonprofits headquartered in our historic Berkeley, California landmark.
In fact, the entire neighborhood of West Berkeley, bordering on Emeryville, is an intriguing one, full of artist studios, cafes, unusual shops, tech and biotech companies, creative businesses, and the historic Fantasy Studios, part of what was formerly known as the Saul Zaentz Film Center, now Zaentz Media Center (photo above). It’s also a short drive from West Berkeley to Pixar and other Emeryville landmarks.
You can see the entire set on Flickr.
If you plan to tour the East Bay Open Studios and want to stop by and meet me (Cathryn Hrudicka) in person, please contact our office first to arrange a date and time, as we’re not usually there for the entire Open Studio hours. You can email us, preferably at least 24 hours in advance, or call and leave a message, at: 1-510-845-5510 (PDT), and we’ll get back to you to arrange a visit! You can also make prior arrangements to visit our building at a time other than East Bay Open Studios by contacting us at least a week in advance.
We hope you’ll enjoy touring our historic Berkeley building, and the East Bay Open Studios!
Keep an eye on this blog, subscribe, and request to be on the Creative Sage Arts mailing list …we’ll be updating it with more performance and multidisciplinary arts news soon.