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Sixth annual Maui Open Studios Event to feature over 90 artists

By Staff | Jan 21, 2016

The 2016 event will feature more than 90 artists, including Brian Persha.

The sixth annual Maui Open Studios Event is scheduled for four weekends next month.

It follows a model that has been very successful on the Mainland for decades: artists and artisans open up their studios and exhibition spaces to show and sell their work to the public as well as “talk story,” connect and inspire visitors through one-on-one interactions and, in some cases, live demonstrations. The entire event is free to the public.

The Opening Celebration/Preview Exhibition will be held on Saturday, Feb. 6, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Pa’ina Culinary Arts Center at the University of Hawaii Maui College.

Self-guided tours begin the following weekend; hours for the weekend shows are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The schedule is: Upcountry on Feb. 13 and 14, ?North Shore and Central Maui on Feb. 20 and 21, and West and South Maui on Feb. 27 and 28.

The event is produced and organized by acclaimed fine art photo collage artist Carolyn Quan, a former art gallery owner on Maui and Oahu.

She is now based in the San Francisco Bay area after living in Hawaii for nine years. Quan remains connected to the islands and the art community in Hawaii.

“When I moved to the San Francisco Bay area from Hawaii and began to do research into art shows and ways of exposing my own artwork to the public, I learned about the myriad of open studio events that take place in California and other art-loving states on the Mainland,” she explained.

“I realized that it was time for Hawaii to have such an event. It is a concept that has been around for almost 40 years on the Mainland and it is a wonderful way for artists and artisans to connect with art buyers, collectors and art and craft enthusiasts. It’s a chance for the art community to come together and show the world what we’ve got here on Maui and what we’re all about!”

The mission of Maui Open Studios is to connect the art community directly with art lovers on Maui. Since its inception, the event has featured more than 80 artists every year and generated over 8,000 individual studio visits by art collectors and enthusiasts each year.

Some $100,000 in art sales made directly between art collectors and artists have been generated by the event each year since its creation.

Quan said the event offers a great way for art-loving locals and tourists to experience unique opportunities to connect with local Maui artists.

During the MOS event, visitors are invited to join many of the artists at the Opening Celebration/Preview Exhibition, where they can enjoy a cash bar and no-host pupus, listen to live music, preview a few pieces of the artists’ work, connect with the artists and pick up a copy of the MOS Guidebook containing an artist directory and maps directing them to different studios and exhibition spaces around the island.

Guidebook locations will be listed on www.MauiOpenStudios.com this month. Visitors then design their own self-guided tours for each weekend of the month, either by referring to their printed guidebook or the online artist directories at www.MauiOpenStudios.com.

“Maui is a major art collectors’ travel destination. People come from far and wide to purchase art on Maui and add to their collections. There is so much diverse talent on the island. And since this is an annual event, it will attract more art lovers and art collectors to the island year after year, and has even become the focus of visitors’ trips to the island, whether interisland, domestic or international. The Maui Open Studios Event is also a way of helping artists gain vital exposure to the public year after year in a fun, exciting and creative way,” Quan said.