By Gabriella Vukman
Open Studios is calling to art lovers who are hungry for the taste of the Valley’s creative scene, welcoming art fanatics back for a 2023 season of immersion into local talent.
Venturing into the raw and authentic spaces where the magic happens, Open Studios is an opportunity to visit the workspaces of over 30 local artists.
Kicking off the festivities on October 5, the Open Studios Exhibition at the YAVA Gallery in Healesville features snippets of artwork from each participating studio. The exhibition is running until November 5.
Over two weekends and complemented by the Open Studios Exhibition at YAVA Gallery, the Yarra Valley Open Studios offers a unique insight into artistic processes
Along with the visitation of the studios, the exhibition is free of charge.
Open Studios Project Manager Reggie Clark said, “the event is open to anyone. Art lovers, locals, people from Melbourne.”
“We’ve had interstate and even some overseas visitors in previous years,” she said.
“Anyone who loves art or even who is just curious about how specific art is done can come along.”
Artists will open their studios in the Coldstream and Healesville area from October 21-22 whilst Upper Yarra studios can be visited from November 4-5.
Artist Christine Cafarella-Pearce said “studio time is food for my soul. It’s such a delight to share my secret place with other creatives and art lovers during Open Studios.”
Each artist’s studio presents works in progress, providing an opportunity to show off their process and collection in an authentic manner. Artworks may also be purchased from studios and the YAVA exhibition.
Reggie said, “it’s a great thing for the artists to be able to showcase what they’re doing for the preceding year. The community can see a side to their community that wouldn’t normally be experienced.”
The open studios events have been running in the Yarra Valley since 2017.
“We’re building it up again after COVID. We’re just hoping that despite there being a lot of online art, people will still love to go and see the art, smell the paint, smell the wood or the clay, touch things just experience it themselves rather than online,” Reggie said.
This year the event’s introduction of a tour bus is an option for those who don’t want to drive. The bus tours are guided by local artists and visit up to six studios over the course of three hours.
“The bus is a new feature. Sometimes we get people saying they feel a bit nervous driving somewhere they’ve never been before. We thought we’d try the bus and I think it will take off. We’ve already sold quite a few tickets which is great,” Reggie said.
Providing a vast mixture of mediums including pottery, sculpture, photography and painting among others, the Yarra Valley Open Studios event is a celebration of the art scene the hills have to offer.
For individual studio times and locations visit the web page: yava.org.au/openstudios
For more information visit the Yava site: https://www.yava.org.au/open-studios-store
