Our Daily Show Interview! ArtEast Returns AFTER 12 YEARS
ALTON - Community members are invited to meet with local artists and tour their studios.
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From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7 and Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, Jacoby Arts Center and the Edwardsville Arts Center will sponsor ArtEast, a self-guided tour of local studios that ran for 15 years before it was discontinued in 2012. Community members can stop at 19 locations across the Riverbend region to meet with 29 artists and see their work.
“We’re really interested in elevating the arts on the Metro East side, including our artists,” said Beth Browne, director of the Edwardsville Arts Center (EAC). “So these collaborations are really important, and the ultimate goal with ArtEast is to spread this across the Metro East, to get these art centers as hubs to connect to their local artists.”
Community members are encouraged to visit as many stops as they want. The Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau has created an interactive map of the studios, so you can view the studios involved in ArtEast and plan your tour.
Browne and Rachel Lappin, director of Jacoby Arts Center (JAC), decided to collaborate to bring back ArtEast after both EAC and JAC found themselves in transitional periods. EAC is currently in an interim space with the City of Edwardsville, while JAC is searching for a new location.
Browne and Lappin emphasized the importance of collaboration. They noted that the transition has been a good opportunity to work with other organizations.
“Organizations move and rebrand all the time,” Lappin said. “Regardless of the obstacles, we still have a mission to fulfill. There’s still ways to do it without a brick-and-mortar. We can do it with other organizations, collaborate, still serve our artists and keep going.”
ArtEast will bring art into the community through the 19-stop tour. Lappin pointed out that it’s a great opportunity to meet with local artists, ask about their process, watch demos and learn about the local art scene.
“With ArtEast, you can go on a self-guided tour and go visit all of these artists in their studios, see them working, see demos, see what they sell, see their process, learn why they do what they do, maybe even learn a story about the artwork that you’re interested in purchasing,” she said. “Make a connection with those artists and the true value of art and local artists in our community.”
While this is the first ArtEast tour in 12 years, the tradition is already going strong. Browne and Lappin hope to see it grow. They want to facilitate more connection between art organizations in the Metro East, and they hope to welcome many community members to the ArtEast tour this weekend.
“That’s the hope, that this spreads,” Browne added. “This is just the first year that we’re getting it off the ground. We’re very fortunate to get a grant from the Illinois Art Council that provided some seed funds to get it kicked off, and we’re hoping that this will continue year after year and just continue to grow.”
For more information about ArtEast, visit the official ArtEast 2024 Facebook event page. You can learn more about the Edwardsville Arts Center at EdwardsvilleArtsCenter.com or check out Jacoby Arts Center at JacobyArtsCenter.org.
