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Twenty-third Annual Open Studio this Weekend

By Andy Hart

November 08, 2012

Open Studio Hartford (OSH), produced by Artists in Real Time, a non-profit organization, will take place city-wide this Saturday & Sunday, November 10 and 11 from 11am-5pm. OSH 2012, now in its 23rd year, is a tour of sixteen venues throughout Hartford. During Open Studio Weekend, the public can see the artwork, studios, galleries, businesses and homes of over 200 artists.

Making OSH an option for holiday shopping supports and helps sustain the local arts community. There will be approximately 75 more artist participants than last year and Union Station, Arbor Street and the Colt Building have all become group locations along with ArtSpace.

A list with descriptions of the expanded venues is below. In order to help people enjoy the various locations in comfort, OSH is proud to announce the addition of Premier Limousine shuttle buses!. Routes begin at Arbor Street #1 or Hartford Art School #16 where you can park for free and ride to other locations.

Parking is free at most locations. For ArtSpace and Union Station, parking is available for $5 at the Union Station lot..

For further information, visit www.openstudiohartford.com or contact event coordinator, Cynthia Bulaong, at hartfordopenstudio@gmail.com or (860) 560-1100.

Arbor Arts Center: Resident artists will welcome over 20 visiting artists that will hang throughout the halls on four floors. Both Think Well Center and Art Connection will host interactive activities including creative journaling and group art projects. Scapegoat Garden will present an interesting series of dance performances.

• Real Art Ways, 56 Arbor Street, is assisting greatly at Arbor Arts Center and will open their two exhibits, Gone Wrong and Intimate Science. In addition, on Saturday 11/10 at 2pm, Sharon Butler, featured Gone Wrong artist, will present a reading of 117 Grattan, an artist's book created in conjunction with her exhibition.

• 30 Arbor Street, a multi-use complex shows a variety of art forms including pottery, photography, fine painting and printmaking. Studio8Sixty Dance will have hip-hop demonstrations throughout the day and Procreate Artist Group just across the hall will feature the work on 6 young adult artists. Reception open to the public 11/10 at 3 pm.

• The Dirt Salon, 50 Bartholomew Avenue, by Cynthia Dodd, is new to the tour where a juried group of impressive artists will fill the "artsy" space located in the design district.

• Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts will perform at Billings Forge, 140 Russ Street, from 11-3 pm on Saturday and Sunday. A schedule of dance, readings and demonstrations is available at http://openstudiohartford.com/directory/item/billings-forge-natasha-miles.html.

• Wethersfield Academy of the Arts opens just over the Hartford border at 431 Hartford Avenue with a sutnning show from the Atelier program, where skills from the classical world are passed on to serious students and enthusiasts.

• Hartford Bicycle Studio, at its new address right next to Arch Street Tavern, will show everything from restored bikes to painting, sculpting & chandeliers and installations. Celebrating local talent and always striving to create something independently beautiful. Refreshments.

• Hartford Square (intersection of Charter Oak Avenue and Wyllys Street): Dyshann Anderson, designer of this year's "23" logo, will open his shop, Aquastone Graphic Arts & Print and the all-new Aquastone Marketplace. It will feature awesome new work with Mohawk paper and free custom items. Refreshments. Institute for Community Research will feature its Sewing Circle Project with traditional crafts by refugee and immigrant artists.

• Colt Gateway (better known as the Colt Building with the iconic blue dome), 140 Huyshope Avenue, is back on the tour after a decade, will open its new artist studio-apartments and welcome nearly 40 visiting artists that will show in the well-lit corridors on the top floor. Highlighted culinary participants include Chef Harry who is creating an edible sculpture and several former Colt Building artists, film production and a good variety of artists. On street level, the glassed-in gallery will feature a Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts exhibit of students, faculty and friends. The academy's unique campus is located in the historic Colt Armory.

• Hartford's landmark Union Station on Union Place will host artisans, jewelers, sculptors etc. in its gorgeous Great Hall just within steps of parking and the popular ArtSpace.

• ArtSpace Hartford, 555 Asylum Street, boasts double the number of resident studios open along with its numerous artists showing in the halls. ArtSpace houses the Group Show which strives to show one piece per OSH artist. Signage identifies locations.

• Maurice D. Robertson Photo Arts, 69 Myrtle Street, continues to open his apartment/studio showing true passion for his art and jazz. Just a short trip up around the corner from the Union Station parking lot.

• Hartford Artisans Weaving Center demonstrates weaving by seniors and low-vision individuals creating unique handwoven items for sale. It is often a sell-out!

• New to the tour is Oak Hill Art Studios minutes from Hartford Art School, 120 Holcomb Street, providing those with intellectual, development and physical disabilities access to art. The exhibit will reflect a wide range of forms.

• Hartford Art School joins OSH as a premier venue and sponsor. The Studios & Galleries located on the University of Hartford campus will present a Freshman Foundations Exhibition and the Annual Faculty Exhibition.