“By opening your doors to those individuals in the community, they can see and understand what you do and realize that it’s not as untouchable as you think it is. It also helps people understand the value of art because they develop a greater appreciation for the time, effort and materials that go into it.”

In addition to the tour of studios, visitors can also enjoy an exhibition of completed work by the Popop community of artists in the gallery space. Surprisingly, the display for the first time in a long time will be entirely dedicated to the artists at Popop only, says Popop-based artist Katrina Cartwright.

Another new addition to the evening will be the chance for participants to take part in the several “class samplers” in time for registration for the Fall 2012 semester of classes being offered at Popopstudios.

“We wanted to give people an opportunity to try it out, give a test run before they commit,” said Cartwright. “It will allow them to meet the instructors and participate in a demonstration for each class, see how it fits, and then they can decide if it’s something which they would like to do.

The evening of open studios at Popopstudios International Center for the Visual Arts will take place Friday, August 17 from 5p.m. to 9 p.m.

Read the full article By Sonia Farmer