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Durango Open Studio Tour

October 14-16, 2022

Smiley Cafe • 1309 E 3rd Ave, Durango, CO 81301

Event Description

Free to the public. All artists and public are welcome.

Friday, October 14, 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm: Taster Art Exhibition at Smiley Cafe Friday, October 15, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm: Durango Open Studio Tour Friday, October 16, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm: Durango Open Studio Tour

This self-guided tour of local artist studios is an opportunity for you to give potential buyers, galleries, and art lovers an opportunity to connect with you on a different level. You can give participants a behind the scenes view of your creative process, and in a way, let others be a part of your process. The tour is free for art patrons to tour studios.

Join us alongside our supportive community organizations in celebrating the contributions artists are making in creating a more beautiful Durango. Artists offering a wide array of fine arts — from paintings, wearable art, photography, ceramics, woodworking, jewelry, mosaics, sculpture, furniture, metalwork, and mixed media are encouraged to be a part of this tour. Call for Artist Deadline to register is September 18th.

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Durango Open Studio Tour

Sat Oct 15 2022 at 10:00 am to Sun Oct 16 2022 at 04:00 am

1309 E 3rd Ave, Durango, CO 81301-5241, United States | Durango, CO

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Durango Open Studios Tour and Art Sale set for Oct. 13-14, 20-21

Posted on Oct 10, 2012

DOS Headquarters: DurangoSpace

Durango, Bayfield and Ignacio artists to open their studios to the public

Durango, CO – Thirty-three artists from Durango, Bayfield and Ignacio, Colo., will open their studios and invite the public to see their creative spaces the weekends of Oct. 13-14 and 20-21, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. as part of the 4th Annual Durango Open Studios Tour and Art Sale. The event is free to the public, though artists’ work will be available for sale.

“We live in a beautiful part of the country and it is no wonder we have so many visual artists in our region. Many come here and get inspired,” said Denise Leslie, publisher, Arts Perspective magazine, the event’s producer. “The studio tour is an opportunity for the public to meet the artists one-on-one, view their work and learn more about how they go about creating. The creative process is so interesting to watch, and I personally am inspired by the artists’ stories.”

Artists participating in Durango Open Studios (DOS) represent a wide variety of fine arts disciplines, ranging, in example, from the blown glass work of Trefny Dix and Bengt Hokanson to Durango watercolorist Ann Smith, as well as pastel painter Rebecca Koeppen of Ignacio and the fine pottery of Nick Blaisdell. This year DOS will also host its first fashion artist, Sandra Cushman. [Please note, a complete listing of the artists follows this press release.]

“Our Tour Guide and Map is available this year online, so you can plot your routes in the various communities,” said Leslie, noting the guide can also be picked up at the 2012 DOS Headquarters – DurangoSpace (1221 Main Avenue), as well as at the Durango Arts Center and Rochester Hotel & Leland House in Durango, Lavenia McCoy Public Library in Bayfield, Dancing Spirit Gallery in Ignacio and the Visitor Center in Mancos.

The public will have an opportunity to meet all the artists and view a sampling of their work at the Open Doors – A Taster Exhibition of Durango Open Studios, Friday, Oct. 12, 5 to 7 p.m. at DurangoSpace, 1221 Main Ave., Durango. Appetizers, a cash bar and live music by singer/songwriter Robby Overfield are planned. The DOS artists also enjoyed additional exposure this year during the Durango Parade of Homes event (Oct. 6-7), featured in homes on the tour. DOS artist Jane Mercer’s work was featured on the program cover.

Noted Mercer, “The Durango Open Studios Tour provides us, as artists, an opportunity to connect with the general public one-on-one. I’ve found that people really want to understand our process and how we create art. Plus it’s a great opportunity for us to market our work.” Further information and details of the various special DOS activities are available on the Durango Open Studios Facebook page or at www.DurangoOpenStudios.com.

Durango Open Studios is part of a series of Open Studio Tours produced throughout the Four Corners region that provide the public a rare opportunity to visit with artists at work in their studios, delivering an insider thrill and unique insight to the creation process. Open Studio Tours is presented by Arts Perspective magazine – a quarterly publication reflecting the diversity of arts in Colorado and west of the Rocky Mountains published by Shared Vision Publishing.

To learn more about Shared Vision Publishing and its activities and services, visit www.sharedvisiononline.com or contact Denise Leslie at 970.403.1590.

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Author: DD.staff

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Durango Open Studio Tour -- Call for Artists

The Durango Studio Tour is excited to announce a Call for Artists to participate in this self-guided event. This self-guided tour of local artist studios is an opportunity for you to give potential buyers, galleries, and art lovers an opportunity to connect with you on a different level. You can give participants a behind the scenes view of your creative process, and in a way, let others be a part of your process. The tour is free for art patrons to tour studios.

The Call for Artists registration closes August 11, 2023. We invite artists to open their studio and share their work with the community. The tour will take place September 23-24 with an Opening Reception on Friday, September 22.

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• »  2009
• »  September-24-2009
• »  A Tour d’Art

A Tour d’Art by Stew Mosberg

by Stew Mosberg

It is been almost four years to the day since Durango experienced the last full-scale artist’s studio tour. Happily, Durango artist Crystal Hartman has come forward to bring a new improved version to town, and it promises to be an audacious weekend for art l0overs. The tour gives the public a chance to talk to the professionals in their workspace and gain a better understanding of what it means to be an artist.

Conceiving the idea in the fall of last year, Hartman began researching art associations and alliances and kicked the idea around with a few other artists. What she found was that most artists agree there are only a few opportunities for them to exhibit their work, and that there is little appreciation by the general public of what it takes to be an artist, or what goes into the creative process. In addition, tours of art studios, such as a recent one in Pagosa Springs, also draw visitors from far outside their respective areas, making a positive economic impact on the community.

The previous two tours in Durango were started by local artist Sharon Abshagen, involved 16 artists, and coincidentally ran the same weekend in September as this incarnation. Reminiscing about her experience in the earlier tour, Karyn Gabaldon said, she was glad to see the idea resurrected, noting it was the impetus for her to open her downtown gallery. “It was very successful, but a little hard for a private person like myself to have people I didn’t know in my studio, which is very sacred to me,” she recalled. “That was when I realized I would rather have a gallery downtown.”

Hartman’s idea of reviving the tour initially met with skepticism, but she said some people were into it right away. Running this weekend, Sept. 26-27, the “Open Studio Tour,” as it is known, will include 22 studios, 27 artists and have three designated auxiliary locations. Delighted by the response to her plan and the resulting number of participants, Hartman exclaimed, “I had no idea how big this was going to get!”

Many artists work in small rented spaces or tiny spare rooms, and they are not in a position to accept tour visitors. To accommodate those individuals, Hartman sought other venue options where those individuals could exhibit. She first approached the Durango Arts Center (DAC) and was able to secure the Barbara Conrad Gallery for several weeks, culminating on the weekend of the “Open Studio Tour.” The art on display in the DAC exhibit, titled “Open Door,” is a juried affair, with three jurors ultimately selecting 10 artists to show about 60 works in a variety of mediums.

As one might imagine, assembling a varied group of artists is difficult at best, and putting it all together requires a number of people. Undaunted, Hartman worked tirelessly for many months to coordinate the event and earned support from several colleagues and sponsors. Funding came from registration and advertising fees plus in-kind services provided by sponsors. However, the expenses were still not covered, and Hartman dipped into her own resources to fill in the financial holes and ensure success of the venture.

Two of her colleagues, who live in Bayfield, joined forces to help their artistic neighbors participate in the Open Studio Tour. Kinsee Morlan and Meisa Chase collaborated with Crystal under the auspices of Morlan’s Red House Gallery and created “Co-lab at Three Springs.” On Mercado Street in the Three Springs commercial area, an available space is being turned into an exhibition gallery for the weekend. Close to a dozen artists working in a variety of mediums will be on hand to showcase and discuss their creative output.

The women believe the guerilla-style show at Three Springs can be a regular occurrence and think that people will really like what they see and that it can be the first of many. “We’re really excited to have a venue with no restrictions,” Chase says. “The space is huge, the walls and floors are raw and unfinished, and it couldn’t be a more appropriate place to show the cutting edge output of some of the artists on view.”

In addition to the Barbara Conrad Gallery show and the Co-lab at Three Springs, Wildflower, at 532 Main Ave., also will be presenting four widely different artists’ work.

According to Hartman, the Open Studio Tour is already a success because it has generated great interest within the art community. “The thing I’m most excited about,” she says, “is the artists getting stoked. Now I’d like everyone to up the ante, to branch out, to create, and to work together. I want people to care. It’s about the artists feeling excited, sharing their ideas and workspace, the act of getting ready for the tour. I love this project; it’s all about creativity.”

The effervescent Hartman is quick to point out that most people have no idea artists do in their studios, what kind of music they listen to or even the actual process of creativity. “Understanding that,” she explained, “will give people a greater appreciation of art. This is a chance to see and learn about it first hand, from the artists themselves.” •

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Durango Open Studio Tour

October 4-6, 2024.

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All photos credited to Waldemar Winkler:  Flickr.com   Smugmug.com

The Independent Weekly Line on Durango and Beyond

Painting the town Arts Week encompasses squeegee painting, glass blowing and everything in between

An artist works on a mural in downtown Durango. Folks will have a chance to see artists live and in action – and even participate if they want – during Durango Arts Week, Sept. 15-24./ Photo by Scott Smith

September is known for some of the more sublime things Durango has to offer: roasted chiles; prime bike riding weather; leaf peeping. And now, thanks to the efforts of some creative-minded locals, September is also known for art.

In fact, a whole week (well, technically 10 days), has been blocked off for the appreciation, creation and ogling of art.

The brainchild of Visit Durango, the inaugural Durango Arts Week takes place Sept. 15-24. Sandwiched on either end by the annual Durango Autumn Arts Fest, Sept. 16-17, and the Durango Open Studio Tour, Sept. 22-24, the event is meant to be a celebration of all things arts-related, according to Visit Durango’s Marketing Manager Nick Kogos.

“We wanted to take the Autumn Arts Fest and other events and bring them into a collaboration of everything arts,” said Kogos. “The focus is to create unity in the community through art.”

The event, which is funded by Lodgers Tax proceeds and is sponsored by the Durango Creative District and City of Durango, will offer not just a chance for professional artists to showcase their works but will give regular folks a chance to explore their creative sides as well.

“We want to create access for all – not just professional artists, but people interested in learning, no matter their skill or ability level,” Kogos said.

To that end, Kogos said Arts Week features some 60 events, aimed at novices and the art-curious. Workshops, which are free or include a small fee, include everything from squeegee art (a Tik Tok thing, I am told) and dog painting (sign me up!) to jewelry making and a pop-up fashion show.

A photographer himself, Kogos will be getting in on the action by offering an intro to Adobe Lightroom and a wildlife photography class.  

“It’s for people who are interested in art but are afraid to get into it,” he said of the week’s events. For many, art can seem “hoity toity,” he said, so the purpose of Arts Week is to break down those barriers.

For those who prefer to stay on the sidelines and keep from getting paint under their fingernails, Arts Week will also feature several spectator-friendly events. For starters, there is the aforementioned Durango Arts Center’s Autumn Arts Fest, featuring hundreds of artists along E. 2nd Ave. for two days of art ogling and shopping enjoyment. In addition, the DAC will stage “The Odd Couple” (the female version) weekends through Oct. 1, and Create Art & Tea (located in the Arts Center) will feature daily art demonstrations on the sidewalk outside the store. Plein air artists will also be stationed at various locations around town, and curious looky-loos are welcome to peer over their shoulders like a live Bob Ross show.

But wait – that’s not all! If getting up close and personal with the artists is your thing, then you’ll want to check out the Open Studio Tour. The event, which was somewhat recently resurrected by local artists Heather Freeman and Cindy Atchison after a several-year hiatus, kicks off with an opening exhibit Sept. 22 from 5-8 p.m. at the Smiley Building.

“People can come and meet the artist and plan their tour for the weekend,” said Atchison.

This year, 30 artists in and around Durango will be opening up their studio for the weekend, and folks can stop in and visit, chat and see the artist in action. Disciplines include everything from painting and drawing to sculpture, mixed-media and glass blowing. (If this is too much to remember, don’t worry. Maps of participating studios will be available at the Friday night opening or online at www. durangoopenstudiotour.com)

Atchison, a graphic designer who splits her work between a home studio and a studio in the Smiley Art Room, said she looks forward to sharing her work and methods with the public.

“At the Smiley, it’s like we have open studio tours every day,” she said. “It’s so much fun, I love it. And people love meeting artists and making that personal connection.”

Freeman, a painter, agrees. “It’s a unique experience to step inside and learn about the creative process. It’s one thing to see art hanging up somewhere, but to get that one-on-one, it’s really unique.”

All three interviewed for this story said community response has been incredible, and there’s already talk of next year making it bigger and better. 

“Next year, we have high hopes of a monthlong fest,” said Kogos. “We’ve been blown away at how engaged the community has been. Everyone is saying this is what Durango needed.”

And if all this talk of art has you jonesing to get out there, why not take a drive north this weekend to check out Silverton Creates, taking place Sept. 8-10. The weekend includes a free outdoor concert on Friday night with Latin band Nosotros as well as music from Native American roots musician Cary Morin & Ghost Dog taking Saturday evening. Other weekend activities include open studio tours, hands-on workshops, demonstrations and performances.

For details on Durango Arts Week, go to: www.durango.org/events/annual-events/fall/durango-arts-week . For details on Silverton Creates, go to: www.silvertoncreates.com .

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Coffee, sculptures and financial advice. Banks try to make new branches less intimidating

NEW YORK (AP) — It’s like Sephora or Starbucks now offered a checking account.

After years of closing or mostly neglecting physical bank branches across the U.S., the nation’s largest banks are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on refurbishing old locations or building new ones, and in the process changing the look, feel and purpose of the local bank branch.

Many of these branches are larger, airier, and meant to feel more comfortable for those walking in with difficult financial questions. Others are being designed as “third spaces” to allow local nonprofits or community representatives to hold workshops or seminars for customers or neighbors. They are a contrast to the marble-clad temples to finance built 50 or 75 years ago and the stale cookie-cutter branches that more recently cluttered suburban malls.

“Coming into a branch can be intimidating. We’re now creating these spaces so everyone can feel welcome,” said Diedra Porché, the head of community and business development of consumer banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Porche heads a team of 150 employees who work at what JPMorgan now calls “community centers,” which are larger branches that have areas for non-profits to do presentations to local residents and provide workshops to those seeking advice. The latest of these community centers opened in The Bronx in April, attended by New York local and state politicians as well as JPMorgan Chairman and CEO, Jamie Dimon.

JPMorgan isn’t alone in designing branches that are focused less on sales and more on providing advice. Capital One opened its latest “café” in Union Square in May, a space that serves coffee and baked goods and allows anyone, Capital One customer or not, to sit inside the café and work and network.

“Banking shouldn’t be that experience of someone sitting in a suit behind a desk talking about your loan application, but it should be someone who is sitting with you, offering to help you through those questions about money and finances,” said Jennifer Windbeck, head of Capital One’s retail bank channels and operations.

Banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo had been steadily closing branches since the 2008 financial crisis. They saw little need for their networks of thousands of physical locations when fewer Americans were entering a branch regularly for routine banking needs and ATMs had largely replaced tellers. In the branches that remained, customers often noticed threadbare carpet and well-worn office furniture and cubicles.

It seemed like the fate of the bank branch was sealed when the technological gains during the pandemic made it possible to buy a home or car without interacting physically with another human being. The U.S. banking industry is estimated to have closed roughly 4,000 branches since 2020, according to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

Policymakers and community advocates criticized the industry for closing so many branches after the financial crisis, particularly branches located in low income neighborhoods where financial services were often limited to check cashing stores, pawn shops and payday lending storefronts.

“When bank branches close, there are several adverse effects on the surrounding community. Small business lending and activity in the area declines. More people use alternative financial services that open them to unregulated and predatory financial practices. An important commercial tenant and employer are lost,” wrote researchers at the NCRC in a report in 2020 about the waves of bank branches shutting down.

Local bank branches are so important that even Congress got involved in the issue during the Civil Rights Era, passing the Community Reinvestment Act, a law partially designed to make sure banks had branches in poor neighborhoods the same way they did in rich neighborhoods.

The trend of branch closures may be reversing, or at least slowing. Chase is net adding new branches, while Bank of America has considerably reduced the rate of branch closures. Other large banks like Capital One and Wells Fargo are slowly adding branches as well. Banks are finding new uses for their branches, often in unexpected ways.

Despite the spread of digital banking, bankers and community groups still emphasize that physical branches are a necessity. Industry and independent research have shown Americans still want to enter a branch when it comes to big financial issues like buying a home or car, preparing for retirement, dealing with the financial impacts of marriage or divorce, or having a new child.

Some banks are even building new branches in unique locations that do not initially scream “this should be a bank.”

Bank of America, for example, brought in Rebekah Sigfrids from Sephora and Victoria’s Secret as its first in-house designer for branches instead of using traditional third-party contractors.

One example of Sigfrids' work is a Bank of America branch opened in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that was previously used as studio space for a sculptor. The clean, airy branch features sculptures by the artist who was previously in the space, as well as additional art from around the neighborhood.

“We’re now really thinking ‘how do we fit this branch into the community?’ Bank of America had its own look and feel but what about when we go into Williamsburg? What about if you’re going to be in downtown Manhattan, or Seattle or what if you’re in Texas?”

JPMorgan Chase has opened nearly 20 of what it now calls “community centers.” These are larger branches placed in low-and-moderate income neighborhoods designed to provide more comprehensive services to typically lower-income Chase customers.

Chase builds these centers with multipurpose areas to allow nonprofit organizations or Chase employees known as community managers to run workshops or financial education seminars for the community. The Chase employees are specifically instructed not to talk about Chase products as part of these workshops, in order to provide higher levels of trust, said Porché.

“We wanted to marry all of the traditional needs in a branch but expanding on that space to where customers can also get financial workshop and programming. These (new branches) should be an anchor for the community," she said.

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