City-Wide Open Studios, sponsored by Artspace, begins this weekend

Artspace
City-Wide Open Studios
50 Orange St, New Haven, (203) 772-2709
City-Wide Open Studios
Oct. 12—30, 2011.
CWOS Festival Exhibition
Through Oct. 23, 2011.
Opening Reception and CWOS Festival Kickoff Party: Fri., Oct. 14, 5—8 p.m.

Press release

Artspace is pleased to announce that the CWOS festival, now in its 14th year, will run October 12—30, with three consecutive weekends of studios open to the public. CWOS unites artists from all over Connecticut to celebrate their practice, share their creative process, and showcase the vitality and diversity of New Haven as creative hub.


Friday, Oct. 14, 5—8 p.m. • The Grand Opening Reception kicks off three weekends of studio visits this Friday night at Artspace. From 5—8 p.m., take the opportunity to meet the artists, tour the CWOS Festival Exhibition and also visit other local galleries that will be staying open late including Ninth Square's Project Storefronts.

Artspace is located at 50 Orange Street at the corner of Crown Street in Downtown New Haven and serves as the CWOS festival hub. Volunteers will be on hand all weekend to assist you with your studio visit planning and mapping.

Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 15—16, 12—5 p.m. • The first weekend is devoted to showcasing the artists in Erector Square in New Haven's Fair Haven neighborhood. Some 100 artists will be displaying and discussing their work in studios and gallery spaces in the old factory complex where Erector Sets were once built. There will also be artists demonstrations throughout the complex.

Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 22—23, 12—5 p.m. • This is the "Passport Weekend." Get your documents in order to travel throughout New Haven and the suburbs—West Haven, North Haven, Hamden—meeting artists in their private and group studios that are normally closed to the public. Studio demos, talks and performances. Artist-designed passport stamps for adventurous explorers, prizes for frequent fliers. Guided bike tours will be led by the Devil's Gear, leaving at 12:30 pm from their location at 151 Orange Street in the rear of the 360 State Street building.

Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 29—30, 12—5 p.m. • Experience what the world could be like if art intersected with the environs of everyday life. The final CWOS weekend is devoted to the Alternative Space, an empty building repurposed for immersive, site-specific installations. This year's Alternative Space is at the Coop Center for Creativity, located at 196—212 College Street in the heart of downtown New Haven.

Over the past fourteen years, City-Wide Open Studios (CWOS) has drawn thousands of visitors to explore New Haven's neighborhoods while discovering artists, galleries, and the treasures of our city. City-Wide Open Studios celebrates contemporary art in all its myriad forms, and is undoubtedly Connecticut's leading visual arts event. Art dealers and curators from the region and beyond have used CWOS as a resource to discover new artists, plan upcoming shows, and buy art. As one of the largest Open Studios programs in the country, CWOS connects hundreds of local artists with the greater New Haven community—and beyond.

City-Wide Open Studios is a program of Artspace, a Connecticut non-profit organization presenting local and national visual art, providing access, excellence, and education for the benefit of the public and the arts community.