galletta

Linda Galletta, the executive director of the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. (John Burgess/The Press Democrat)

The annual ARTrails open art studio tour, sponsored by the Arts Council of Sonoma County for 28 years until the council’s demise last year, will be restarted this fall under the auspices of the Sebastopol Center for the Arts.

The new name for the program is not finalized yet, but it probably will be something along the lines of Sonoma County Art Trails, said Linda Galletta, executive director of the art center in Sebastopol.

The dates for the two-weekend. countywide event will be Oct. 11-12 and Oct. 18-19. It will feature some 160 artists, welcoming the public into their own studios. The participants will be chosen by a jury of gallery owners and art experts.

The Arts Council of Sonoma County laid off its staff and closed its doors last October, citing lack of grant funds.

The Sebastopol Center for Arts will continue to sponsor the similar spring open studio tour, Art at the Source, which will celebrate its 20th year May 31-June 1 and June 7-8.

Art at the Source also attracts more than 150 artists every year, and some artists participate in both programs. Art at the Source originally began with a group of West County artists who broke away from ARTrails, Galletta said.

The West County event is limited to art studios from west Santa Rosa to the coast, but allows artists to invite guest artists into their studios for the event. Artists entering the program undergo a peer review by other Art at the Source artist.

Galletta said she is confident that both programs will continue to attract visitors to artists’ studios.

“These are important events on a county-wide level, because they showcase the breadth and depth of visual artists that we have living here,” Galletta said.

For more information: sebarts.org, 829-4797.

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