The Artists Collective | Spartanburg, the Chapman Cultural Center, the Spartanburg Art Museum and the Artists Guild of Spartanburg will host the second annual two-day Open Doors Studio Tour April 20 and 21 to showcase 57 artists’ working studio spaces and their works.
The participating artists – whose numbers increased from 45 in last year’s first Open Doors event for Spartanburg – have been included in a two-month-long tour preview exhibition at the Artists Collective | Spartanburg.
The tour is free and open to the public; works will be available for purchase.
“We are so excited to include a dozen more artists and their works and studios in this year’s Open Doors tour,” says Beth Regula, chair of the management board of the Artists Collective and co-chair with local artist Glenda Guion for the event. “The tours give the artists the opportunity to invite the public into their work spaces so they can see their artwork, learn about the creative process and purchase works for sale.”
More than 1,000 pieces of artwork will be part of the tour. The tour includes painters, sculptors, potters, photographers, jewelers, printmakers, fiber artists and more. Participation in the event was opened to all local artists, whether they were members of any of the sponsoring organizations or not.
Regula and Guion, who was one of dozens of artists who started Greenville Open Studios more than 20 years ago, collaborated in 2023 to bring the arts organizations together for Spartanburg’s first Open Doors tour.
“Our first here in Spartanburg was a huge success for the artists and the visitors who came through their studios,” Guion says. “We are so happy to expand Open Doors this year and plan to continue this opportunity for many years to come as a way to showcase the remarkable arts community here.”
“Art studio tours are a unique, fun attraction for all ages – from the seasoned art collector – to the youngest art student,” Guion adds. “The focus of the Open Doors tour is to provide both support for local visual artists and to heighten artistic and cultural awareness within our community. Collectors, supporters and the art-interested public will have the opportunity to see how art is created by visiting the artists in their studios all across the county.”
The studios are required to include a “working” artist space. All artists will show their creative process inside their studios, some doing demonstrations, some allowing the visitors to touch a ball of clay or watch a print being pulled from a press or see artworks in various stages of completion. “Educating the general public about where and how artists create is an element not available in any other event in the county,” Guion adds.
“It has been proven that arts drive tourism,” she adds. “Arts travelers are ideal tourists, staying longer and spending more to seek out authentic cultural experiences. Art studio tours are known to attract people from both inside and outside of the community. Visitors will drive across Spartanburg County to visit studios, enjoying the beauty of both our city and rural areas along the way.”
The Open Doors Studio Tour is a self-guided two-day event that is free to the public. Participating artists will open their studios to show and sell their work from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 20, and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 21. To see the studios included in this year’s tour and find a map of all of the studio locations, along with artists’ statements and samples of their works, visit the Open Doors website at opendoorstudios.art.
“Through the Open Doors Studio Tour, we hope to encourage people to look for art beyond main street,” Guion says. “We also would like to see more and more artists open their doors in the years to come.”