Local artists display their work at Brookline Open Studios
ELEANOR BERGSTEIN/SAGAMORE STAFF
Brookline Open Studios was held on Saturday, Oct. 2. Local artists exhibited their work at two Brookline locations
Paintings, music, jewelry, pottery and food welcomed fall into Brookline on a clear day the first weekend of October.
Local artists displayed their work to the public in the annual Brookline Open Studios event on Saturday, Oct. 2. The event, which ran from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., was organized by the Brookline Arts Center in collaboration with all the independent artists who exhibited their work. This year, Open Studios took place in two different locations: Monmouth Park near the Brookline Arts Center and Station St. in Brookline Village.
Station St. was blocked off to cars by the Brookline Police Department, and pedestrians made their way up and down the street viewing the art, listening to live music and buying food. Tents lined both sides of the street beginning at Brothers & Sisters Co. cafe and made their way down the hill past the Brookline Village train stop.
Graphic designer Caroline Bowden, one of the many artists to help organize Open Studios, said that the event had to be put together in a short amount of time. This was the first year Brookline Open Studios was held outdoors.
On Station St., Amy Berarducci set up a pop-up table for her bakery, Sunshower Bakery. She sold cookies, cinnamon buns, donuts and hot cocoa. Berarducci said it was also great for the event to be outdoors.
“This is an incredible opportunity. It’s also really exciting to have this event outside. I know part of the fun of Open Studios is being able to see artists work in studios, but it’s very nice to have an outdoor event,” Berarducci said.
One artist and co-owner of Andem Art Studios, Sharrel Meeker, said that most of the artists at the event do not have their own storefronts, so this event is a unique opportunity to exhibit their work.
“We’re hoping to make a little bit of money. Everyone struggled with the pandemic and not having as many outdoor markets. We’re really happy that it’s a beautiful day and we can all be out here, interact with everyone and make some sales,” Meeker said.
Bowden said that the biggest challenges of organizing the event were putting everything together in just two months and publicizing it. According to Bowden, the event in Monmouth Park was smaller than the one on Station St. In total, there were over 50 artists exhibiting their work.
Two bands called “The High Maintenance Jug Band” and “The Sharp Nines” were lined up to play music on Station St., followed by blues and jazz duo Dan Bowden and Ralph Rosen in the late afternoon.
Maryellen Moran, who was selling her work on Station St., said that she thinks Brookline should have more events like this one.
“It’s a win-win for both the Brookline residents and the artists,” Moran said.
Bowden said that it is important to support local artists and expose the public to creativity.
“Open Studios is an opportunity for artists to be seen by the public and a chance for the public to buy great art for reasonable prices,” Bowden said. “It makes me feel good to be out on a sunny day, looking at nice things and being around other happy people.”
Learn more about the event at their website.
