ARTrails celebrates its 22nd year of bringing art to our community. The event takes place Oct. 13-14 and 20-21 from 10 am to 5 pm During these two weekends 138 artists throughout Sonoma County will open their studios to the public, allowing the public a rare opportunity to view their different creative processes and techniques. ARTrails is the largest outdoor art event in Sonoma County and one of the oldest open studio programs, and the only such event in the North Bay to be juried. The five geographic regions include Santa Rosa, Healdsburg/Windsor, Sonoma/Kenwood, Sebastopol/West County and Petaluma.
Two exhibits are open now through Saturday, October 26. An exhibit at the Arts Council of the Sonoma County Gallery, 529 Fifth Street, Santa Rosa, will allow the public to preview the artists’ work. A satellite exhibit at the Graton Gallery, 9048 Graton Road, in downtown Graton is also available for viewing.
ARTrails operates under the auspices of the Arts Council of Sonoma County (ACSC). The concept was initialized in 1985 by a group of artists with an educational mission, which continues today. ARTrails provides a rare opportunity for the public to meet local artists in their studios and learn about their diverse creative processes and techniques. The program continues to win recognition by the public as “Sonoma County’s Best Outdoor Art Event”.
The 2007 ARTrails Open Studios welcomes 18 new artists who were selected from 85 applicants in a “blind jury” process in which seven art professionals from within and outside Sonoma County select participating artists based on an anonymous evaluation of their application. A different set of jurors participates each year to select new artists based on examples of work submitted. There are no quotas on the number of artists or media types selected. The vast arrays of media featured are ceramics, sculpture, woodworking, painting, drawing and pastels, photography, fiber arts, furniture, glass, and printmaking. Artists who reside and work within Sonoma County are eligible to apply to ARTrails. For more information on ARTrails, visit www.artrails.org.
