The Backstory of the TOUR
Late summer 2016 as a couple of Bozeman artists were becoming friends, in the course of conversation, we realized we both shared the wish to have a local artist studio tour. So we put our minds to it and made it happen. A short list of artists were invited to participate in the 2016 Inaugural Tour as we figured out how to make it happen. We estimated costs for promoting the event and made the fee for artists to participate as low as possible. Most artists felt the event was successful and the people who toured overwhelmingly loved the TOUR.
To participate in the tour Artists needed to have a dedicated Studio space, a professional art practice, and be willing to share their studio and processes with the public. (There was a soft jury process, to ensure work and studio space met professional quality). We kept the fees to participate as low as possible for the artists, and kept the event free for the public.
Our goals for the public were to increase awareness of local contemporary artists to the public, to give the public a chance to learn more about the individual local artists, art-forms, and for them to get a glimpse behind the scenes of their work. Some artists who are in the tour show their work outside of this area, so this is a great chance for locals to meet and see their art in person. We also wanted to raise awareness of the need for affordable work and display space for artists and creatives in our vibrant and rapidly growing community.
This was a true grass roots event, that is why it still lives on a free website.
Late summer 2016 as a couple of Bozeman artists were becoming friends, in the course of conversation, we realized we both shared the wish to have a local artist studio tour. So we put our minds to it and made it happen. A short list of artists were invited to participate in the 2016 Inaugural Tour as we figured out how to make it happen. We estimated costs for promoting the event and made the fee for artists to participate as low as possible. Most artists felt the event was successful and the people who toured overwhelmingly loved the TOUR.
To participate in the tour Artists needed to have a dedicated Studio space, a professional art practice, and be willing to share their studio and processes with the public. (There was a soft jury process, to ensure work and studio space met professional quality). We kept the fees to participate as low as possible for the artists, and kept the event free for the public.
Our goals for the public were to increase awareness of local contemporary artists to the public, to give the public a chance to learn more about the individual local artists, art-forms, and for them to get a glimpse behind the scenes of their work. Some artists who are in the tour show their work outside of this area, so this is a great chance for locals to meet and see their art in person. We also wanted to raise awareness of the need for affordable work and display space for artists and creatives in our vibrant and rapidly growing community.
This was a true grass roots event, that is why it still lives on a free website.