For Immediate Release
April 28, 2010
CONTACT:
Martha Fitch, Executive Director
Tel: (802) 223-3380 E-mail: vt1crafts@aol.com
Open Studio Weekend Celebrates Its Eighteenth Year
MONTPELIER, Vt. -
Open Studio Weekend is a statewide celebration of the visual arts and the creative process in which Vermont artists and craftspeople invite the public to visit them in their studios during Memorial Day Weekend, May 29 - 30. More than 236 sites will be open during this event, with more than 300 artists and artisans participating. Open Studio Weekend represents a unique opportunity to meet a wide variety of artists and craftspeople in their studios, some of which are only open to the public during this weekend.
Open Studio Weekend features the work of glass blowers, jewelers, printmakers, potters, furniture makers, weavers, ironworkers, painters, sculptors, quilt makers and wood carvers. Many galleries will host gallery talks and feature special exhibits in conjunction with this event.
Visitors return to Open Studio year after year because the tour is different each year. Martha Fitch, executive director of the Vermont Crafts Council reports that the group of studio and gallery sites changes each year providing a continually "new" annual event. Fitch said "About 40% of the map changes each year as studios take a year off, and new studios join the tour. This accounts for about 80 new sites every year and allows for new geographic clusters to emerge." The Vermont Crafts Council publishes a free map booklet with directions to participating sites. The Vermont Studio Tour Guide is available at Vermont Information Centers, from individual studios and galleries, and by request.
The Vermont Crafts Council created Open Studio Weekend 18 years ago to increase the visibility of artists and craftspeople in Vermont and to foster an appreciation for the creative process and the role that artists and craftspeople play in the vitality of Vermont’s communities. Open Studio Weekend is one of the signature events of Vermont Cultural Heritage Days from May 29- July 5. (Web: www.VermontVacation.com).
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the Vermont Crafts Council has organized a year celebrating Vermont craft by joining with its partners the Vermont Folklife Center and the Bennington Museum in opening State of Craft on May 22nd. State of Craft is both an events showcase and an exhibit revealing the history of the crafts movement in Vermont from 1960 - 2010. The exhibit runs until October 30th at the Bennington Museum. The State of Craft Events Showcase begins on May 2 at Creative Space in Vergennes with an exhibit of the Book Arts Guild and continues through 25 events until the end of 2010.
Additional information about Open Studio Weekend can be found online at www.vermontcrafts.com/or by calling the Vermont Crafts Council at 802-223-3380.
State of Craft Events and craft history information can be found at www.stateofcraft.org, or by calling the Vermont Crafts Council at 802-223-3380. Information for the Bennington Museum's State of Craft Exhibit can be found at www.benningtonmuseum.org or by contacting Sue Strano sstrano@benningtonmuseum.org. 802-447-1571.
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