By Emily Moffitt
48"x60" oil on canvas, Walking a Tightrope by Christopher Lane
Columbia Open Studios returns on April 2nd and 3rd! The event is a “self-guided, weekend-long, free tour of artists’ studios in the Greater Columbia, South Carolina area, including all of Richland and Lexington Counties” and gives South Carolinians an opportunity to check out some of the most prominent inventive minds Columbia has to offer.
It is a free event that offers time to meet with the participating artists individually at the Preview Party, and the event aims to create a direct connection between the artists and audiences both in person and on the web through social media promotion and interpersonal marketing.
Patrons get to have a sneak peek into the individualized studio life of their favorite local artists by touring their studio spaces.
Many artists who participate in COS are repeat participants; 2022 will be the fourth year that Christopher Lane participates in the event. A highly successful artist with a passion for making large format paintings that make large statements and one who finds beauty in every inch of landscape that South Carolina offers, Lane finds great value in being a part of the COS artists. “I enjoy it immensely as it allows patrons to observe my work in a more intimate setting and connect in a way we can’t always do in galleries.”
This sentiment is surely shared amongst the other participants, both on the part of the artists and the audiences. The participant roster features a wide variety of artists from multiple disciplines, with painters, ceramicists, and everything in between, creating lots of chances for visitors to find a new artist’s body of work to fall in love with.
The event will be free to the public and last from 10 AM to 6 PM on Saturday April 2nd, and from 12 PM to 6 PM on Sunday April 3rd.
For more information, you can check out their website columbiaopenstudios.org and subscribe to their newsletter! The participating artists with pertinent information about their work and locations are all featured on the website.