Over 400 San Francisco artists are opening their art studios to the public free of charge over the span of five weekends this year as a part of the 36th annual SF Open Studios Exhibition.
SF Open Studios has been running for three consecutive weekends, making art more accessible to the public.
Free shuttle buses transported art lovers to different studios in San Francisco to view a variety of artwork from several artists.
Since its start in 1975, the event has been produced by ArtSpan, a non-profit art organization in San Francisco.
ArtSpan, who wanted less competition on each weekend between art galleries, added an additional viewing weekend to their program this year so art enthusiasts can discover more of San Francisco’s artists.
“San Francisco” is a city known for its abundance of local artists, said Jennifer Mullen, program and events director for ArtSpan.
Last weekend, artists from the SoMa District—south of Market St. in San Francisco—were inviting art enthusiasts to both their in home and collective art studios.
Viewers were able to become a part of the artists’ work and learn where the inspiration for their art pieces came from.
For mixed media and SF Open Studios participating artist Bernadette Emrick, explaining her creations to art admirers makes the art even more accessible.
Emrick said she has had trouble selling her art work since the economic recession began and SF Open Studios gave her an opportunity to really enjoy art.
SF Open Studios’ first priority is to help artists make a living from the selling of their artwork.
“We want our artists to meet potential clients,” said Mullen.
During the year there are several additional events held in the Bay Area that make art accessible to the public, including free entrance into San Francisco’s museums on the first Tuesday of each month, music festivals, art fairs and public art displays in the streets of San Francisco.
CSU East Bay professor and artist Grace Munakata said, “There is a lot of art which is accessible, but people need to have an interest in seeking out, seeing and responding to art.”
Some art enthusiasts say art seems difficult to see. Sara-Maude Melançon, a CSUEB communication major attending the event, thinks that art, especially visual art, isn’t easy to access. For her, the lack of publicity is a major factor in this issue.
“It’s a really fragile industry and the artists have to be popular to earn a lot of money,” Melançon said.
Every year, the organizers work hard to publicize the event.
According to Mullen, the results are worth the effort, because this year new people visited the studios during the first three weekends. SF Open Studios will still be running until the end of October.