Children admire Visual Arts students’ work during open studio of the 2014 season. (Roxana Pop | File photo)
The theater has backstage tours. The symphony has Q-and-A sessions. The School of Art has open studio night.
From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. today, the art students will open their studios in the Arts Quad to anyone who wants to see their hard work this summer.
The event is co-hosted by the art school and VACI Partners, which will provide light refreshments and live music.
“We see everyone from VACI Partners to people who have never seen the art school and are just amazed that this place exists,” said Lois Jubeck, managing director of the Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution.
The event takes place the day before the students begin their final critiques, so it provides a good excuse to tidy up the studios and put out all their work for display. There is a wide range of paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures and more, much of which will be for sale.
The tours also provide a more casual environment for the artists to discuss their work with community members.
“It’ll be easier to talk in the studios,” said Cassie Wiegmann, a student at the school. “I feel like artists have a hard time talking about our work [in galleries].”
Even for Chautauquans who saw the student show, the studio tours are an opportunity to study the spaces within which the works were created.
“It’s nice, because people can interact with everything you’ve made,” said Luke Ramsey, another student.
Although the event is only a few years old, it continues to grow in popularity, and many Chautauquans look forward to it.
“It’s gotten bigger and bigger every year,” Jubeck said. “People just like to come. It’s like a really nice atmosphere, kind of like a nice little quad party.”
The Chautauquan Daily 
