Three of the founding artists of Austin Art Space: Rebecca Bennett, Jan Knox and Valerie Walden will pack up their portfolios and move to Smith Roads Studios to participate as guest artists in the East Austin Studio Tour (E.A.S.T) November 14-22, 2009. It’s a temporary move into one of Austin’s most populist art events.
Now in its eighth year, E.A.S.T. has become a staple of the Austin arts community for patrons and artisans of all kinds. Locations of galleries and studios are clustered and extensively mapped so that visitors can easily walk among several at once. Many of the studio spaces are only open to the public during this event.
E.A.S.T. has become so popular that it has been expanded to two weekends: Saturday/Sunday Nov.14-15 and Saturday/Sunday Nov. 21-22. The tour is open 10:00 am – 5:00 pm each day with complementary “happenings” and additional programs occurring all around the area well into the evening. Over the course of the four days, visitors will have the opportunity to view the work of over 270 artists at innumerable studios and galleries.
Smith Road Studios is on its way to becoming a destination stop on the tour. The cavernous space includes Flat Fork Studios, DeLisa Designs, Schoen Sculpture Studio and House 11 Studio along with a variety of artists, in addition to Ms. Bennett, Knox and Walden. A number of other prominent galleries and studios are located in the immediate vicinity including several that share the parking lot which greatly simplifies touring.
Ms. Walden commented, “We’ve all shown at E.A.S.T. in past, but this is the first time we’ve been together in the same place. Smith Road Studios is a great venue. We’re excited about the opportunity to present our work to such a large and diverse audience.” All three Art Space artists will be on hand to discuss their work during tour hours. And, all three will be back on the northwest side at Austin Art Space in time for the 5th annual “12 Buy 12” show December 1-21.
E.A.S.T attendance is free, thanks to broad support from local sponsors, the Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment of the Arts, A detailed map and listing of participating artists is available at www.eastaustinstudiotour.com. Printed tour guides are available at Austin Art Space and various locations around downtown and the east side.