SOUTH DENVER ARTISTS OPEN STUDIO TOUR

DENVER, Colorado - Please join us for the first annual South Denver Artists (SoDA) OPEN STUDIO TOUR happening Saturday, September 28th & Sunday, September 29th from 10am to 4pm. The self-guided tour invites you to visit eight working studios featuring over a dozen artists, all located in Denver’s south-side neighborhoods. Take a peek at their unique workspaces, learn about their art practice and perhaps bring home an original work of local art.

“Nothing is more captivating than getting an intimate look inside a working artist’s studio,” says organizer/artist Mai Wyn Schantz. “To glimpse works yet unfinished, see firsthand how an artist does their craft and take in the space where big ideas come to fruition, is just so captivating.” All but one of the eight locations are residential with artists carving out devoted studio spaces in their garages, basements and bonus rooms. These spaces are almost never open to the public. 

Schantz, who at the onset of the pandemic shuttered her combined gallery-studio Mai Wyn Fine Art on Santa Fe Drive, was looking for an opportunity to share her workspace again with collectors. Last fall she opened her home studio for one weekend and felt strongly enough about the response to do it again, only this time she decided to expand it. "As I started reaching out, I discovered more and more artists in my area. Who knew Denver’s south-side had so many of us?”

The eight studios open for this year’s event include: Rhiannon Alpers (book arts), Common Law Swans Pottery (ceramics), Michael Dowling (figurative painting & drawing), Joey Kerlin (mixed media collage), Lois R. Lupica (encaustic & cold wax painting), Desmond O’Hagan (oil painting & pastels), Mai Wyn Schantz (oils on stainless steel), Elaine St. Louis (nest paintings) and Woodward Studios (painting & woodworking). Woodward Studios will also be hosting their annual invitational show featuring over 34 artists. 

Follow the link below or scan the QR code to learn more about the participating artists and to plan your tour. Schantz suggests starting at one of the western-most locations (studio of Rhiannon Alpers or Elaine St. Louis) and work your way east. Making your last stop at Woodward Studios lands you next door to Esters for pizza. 

For questions please feel free to email organizer Mai Wyn Schantz at maiwyn@maiwyn.com or call (720) 252-0500.