Ojai Studio Artists Tour 2021

The celebrated Ojai Studio Artists Tour returns after its pandemic hiatus. Best of all, this year the tour is FREE.

For over 30 years, art collectors have reserved the second weekend in October for the Ojai Studio Artists Tour. What brings them back year after year? Is it the quality and variety of artistic expression? The chance to peek inside the artists’ workspaces? Maybe it’s simply the natural beauty of the valley. The Ojai way of life attracts art lovers year-round, but the OSA Tour weekend opens up even more opportunities to connect with the Ojai arts community.

The 2021 Ojai Studio Artists Tour weekend is slated for October 9, 10 & 11. To preview the artists who have studios open to the public, visit Finding Light, a group exhibition at the Ojai Valley Museum.

Nationally known artists such as Theodore T. Gall, Joseph Sohm, Sherry Saxe Loehr, Carol Shaw-Sutton, and more have been featured in The New York Times, Southwest Art, The Artists Magazine, National Geographic, and more. Ojai Studio Artists are represented by galleries nationwide, but OSA Tour visitors can meet them in their homes.

The Ojai Studio Artists Tour features many artists not yet on the national stage; but are nonetheless creative, talented, and energetic — artistic innovators in their own right. An extension of the individual artists’ personality — intricate and methodical or exuberant and messy — each studio holds something to discover.

Since the tour is FREE this year, you can visit studios without having to wait in line! Visitors must register in advance to receive a map and information that will guide them through the valley. The Ojai Studio Artists Tour is a self-guided experience as intimate or broad as the visitor likes.

For the safety of visitors and the community, masks are required. 

October 9, 10, 11 | Open Studios 10 am - 5 pm

ABOUT OJAI STUDIO ARTISTS :

Thirty-five years ago, three nationally recognized Ojai artists: Bert Collins, Marta Nelson, and Gayel Childress were inspired to invite art lovers and collectors into the studios of Ojai’s many fine artists, sharing a weekend in celebration of art and creativity. The first year, twenty-four artists opened their studios, and twenty artists held a joint exhibition at the Ojai Art Center. From this core group, the Ojai Studio Artists group was formed. OSA today has doubled in size from its beginnings — each new member juried in only after demonstrating the highest standards of professional excellence and achievement.

Since then, the prestige of OSA’s annual tour has become a premier art experience. Thousands tour the studios of the renowned Ojai Studio Artists, traveling at their own pace studios and visiting with Ojai’s finest artists. For visitors, it’s a unique opportunity to meet artists, develop relationships and expand collections.

In 1993, OSA initiated its youth scholarships program with proceeds from Tour ticket and raffle/ auction sales, sponsorships, and private donations. To date, OSA has given more than $200,000 in art scholarships. It also purchases art books for local libraries, partners with schools in teaching classes, and mentoring students supports public art projects and other community programs…

In 2006, Ojai Studio Artists was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community educational organization, working year-round to promote art awareness. With the decline in public money for arts education, OSA has taken up the cause of preparing the next generation of artists and celebrating the importance of the arts within the region.