2025 Open Studio Tour

July 19-20 & August 16-17

 
 

2025 Open Studio Tour Registration Information

OVERVIEW: Once again, SCA will offer New Englanders the chance to visit the studios of some of the best artists living, working, and exhibiting in the four beautiful coastal towns of Tiverton, Little Compton, Westport, and Dartmouth. This well-publicized self-guided tour invites art lovers to travel along small highways and rural byways of stunning natural beauty. Open Studio Tour weekends are free, open to the public, and require no preregistration or advance ticketing for visitors.

REFUNDS: Artists who withdraw from the tour are not eligible for a refund. In the event that circum- stances beyond our control force South Coast Artists, Inc. to cancel the Open Studio Tour prior to May 1, all artists will be entitled to a full refund of their registration fee. In the event that such circumstances force the cancellation of the Tour after May 1, artists will receive a partial refund of $100. This is due to the expenses that the organization will have incurred by that date.

 

This video is from 2024 registration, but the process is almost identical for 2025. Here is a video guide to help walk you through the registration process!

 

BEFORE YOU REGISTER:

  • Make sure your images are properly named and resized

  • Put them in a separate folder, easy to find on your computer, to make the upload process faster

  • Copy and paste is your friend! Type out answers to the longer questions in a word document. At registration, you can simply copy and paste your answers into the correct boxes

  • Website links MUST BE URL’s- copy and paste them from your browser

  • Be sure to double check the spelling of your name, address and other personal information

  • If you need help, please ask! Email questions to Holly at tour@southcoastartists.org

IMPORTANT DATES REGARDING THE TOUR:

● February 1 -14 Early Bird Tour Registration
● February 15 - 28 - Tour Registration
● February 28 - Tour Registration Closes. PLEASE NOTE: tour registration may close earlier if the maximum number of 75 artists is reached.
● March 1 - Tour Art Contest Submissions Open
● March 22 - Tour Art Contest Submissions Close
● May 15 - Tour Art Contest Winners Announced at Members Gathering
● June 18 - Kickoff Party at Weatherlow Farms, Westport, MA
● July 19 & 2 - Open Studio Tour Weekend One
● August 16 & 17 - Open Studio Tour Weekend Two

 
 

Annual Tour Art Contest

 
 

THEME: This call for art is universal in scope. Air itself is a vital element of life. The air of our shared atmosphere connects us globally, through the life sustaining breath that passes through each of our bodies. Artworks in this competition promise to be an imaginative journey through the invisible, kinetic, ethereal, and freshness of air. An open window, cloudy skies, a windy day, fresh laundry on a clothesline, a child’s balloon, the atmosphere/environment, our lungs, or perhaps an abstract painting that feels as fresh and new as “a breath of fresh air.” Let all of these and more inspire you to create something wonderful!

ELIGIBILITY: Participation is open only to members who are registered for the 2025 Open Studio Tour.

ENTRY PROCEDURE: Enter online at www.SouthCoastArtists.org via the Annual Art Contest form. One entry per member. No size limit. Work must have been created within the last three years.

IMAGES: The contest is judged on digital images only, so clear quality images are important. JPEGs must be a minimum size of 4” x 6” at 300 dpi. We encourage you to submit the highest-quality image possible (scanned images are recommended). Images must be labeled as follows: artist’s last name, underscore, first initial, underscore, a shortened version of the title, underscore, CON. For example, Roberta Smith’s painting, Two Trees in the Woods, would be labeled, Smith_R_2Trees_CON.jpg.

AWARDS: First place receives a Tour registration refund, a $300 value! Second place receives $150, third place receives $100. The winners also get their artwork in a featured section on the Tour brochure and increased exposure in promotional materials.

JUROR: Kevin Gilmore is an interdisciplinary artist, working as a painter, experimental sound composer, and educator. Originally from Rhode Island he spent over a decade exploring the landscapes of Wyoming, Oregon, Italy, and Brooklyn. As an abstract visual artist working with collage, acrylic and oils, the sense of place becomes the subject of his abstract canvases. Gilmore works with sound as a medium, composing experimental soundscapes from field recordings, acousmatics through contact microphones, digital instruments and analogue synthesizers. His teaching philosophy has developed through a similar intuitive process, with experience leading workshops and teaching undergraduate art classes. After starting a family in NYC, Kevin returned to his native state... as Rhode Islanders often do. His interdisciplinary art practice is located close to the sea where he also lives with his wife, two children and his dog.

Kevin Gilmore, 2025 Tour Art Contest Juror

 

The following information is from the 2024 Tour, but all helpful resources to review. The information will continue to be updated as it becomes available.

 

Looking for ways to help announce your participation on the Open Studio Tour?

Please click the button below to find some SCA branded marketing materials.

SCA Mailing List Signup Form

NEW for this year!

In your bag of brochures and goodies, you found a poster to hang in your studio with a QR code link for visitors to sign up for our mailing list. We understand that some people are hesitant to sign up online, so we have created a form that you can print out to have people sign up while visiting your studios.

Once your form is complete, please send us the information to add to our master list. You can scan/photograph the list and email it to info@southcoastartists.org or you can mail it to us:

South Coast Artists
PO Box 3716
Westport, MA 02790

Please click here or on the image below to download the signup form & print out for the weekend.

 
 

SCA Youth Grant

Please have the Youth Grant brochures available for your visitors. We have added a poster you can print out to hang in your studio to support the brochures.

 

Visitors can meet Fiona Marques and see her work during the Open Studio Tour at studio #6 of Lindsey Epstein, 324 East Rd., Tiverton. They can also view the work she created using funds from the grant during the Tour!

Applications for the grant are available online and must be received by December 15th. This project-based grant it open to residents/students of Newport and Bristol county, aged 16-21.

Distribute Your Brochures!

NEW for 2024! We are looking to keep track of where brochures are being distributed. Please fill out this chart (or send us an email) with the date and drop-off location of the brochures. This chart is a great resource for us to be able to help re-stock when needed. If you visit a business that needs restocking, please let us know if you were not able to re-stock when you visited.

Places to distribute your brochures:

• Local Businesses

• Your Mailing List

• Public Library

• Friends & Family

• Visitor Centers

• Restaurants

Getting ready for the Tour!

All registered Tour artists are required to attend the kickoff party Wednesday, June 18th at Weatherlow Farms in Westport, MA. At this event you will pick up your Tour brochures and other marketing materials. We will also take our yearly group photo and have the opportunity to meet other Tour artists, fellow members and our sponsors!