The SCAA Red Dot Studio Tour returns Labor Day Weekend with more studios and an additional day. The Silver City Art Association is thrilled to have 27 member studios open for the Studio Tour.
With the addition of eight more studios this year, it was decided to add one more optional day on Labor Day Monday. This year’s tour presents several new studios, long-time studio members, returning studios plus studios having two artists at their location. The Studio Tour has become an annual Labor Day event offering a rare glimpse into otherwise private studios.
The diverse group of SCAA Studio members create their art using materials like steel, wood, fiber, clay, wax, pigments, found objects and utilize processes like digital and conventional photography. They work in dedicated studio spaces throughout Grant County, from downtown Silver City to the Mimbres Valley, the mining district and into the iconic Gila National Forest.
These eclectic spaces offer solitude, inspiration, creativity, a retreat, and a place to truly focus. During the Red Dot Studio Tour, you are invited to see how and where these artists create.
The Studio Tour kicks off in August with an exhibit at Light Art Space Flash Gallery, 109 West Broadway, Silver City. Artwork from each participating studio will be on display from Thursday, Aug. 27 through Sunday, Sept. 6. View the artwork and plan which studios you want to visit. Meet the artists before you go on Friday night Sept. 4 from 4-7 p.m. This “opening” reception is a chance to talk to the diverse group of SCAA’s Studio artists.
All studios are easy to find with the Studio Tour brochure. Each year the number and locations of artists participating changes. New stops are added, some may have moved their studios, and some retire. Two maps must be developed each year to ensure accurate locations and routes to follow.
Designer Bryan Hyde said, “It was a real challenge getting all 27 studios in this year’s maps.” The cover of the 2026 Studio brochure features renowned artist, Lois Duffy, who is one of SCAA’s founding members. Her studio will feature her lifetime collection of artwork.
The “Greater Downtown” map covers 16 studios located in or close to the historic Silver City downtown. The “outlying” 11 studios are arranged on the second map. Studios that are also open on Monday are tagged. The brochure lists each studio by number and with a description. The detailed maps locate each studio by number.
The Studio Tour brochures will be available in early August at Light Art Space, downtown galleries, the Visitor Center, and at local businesses. During Labor Day weekend, each studio will have wayfinding arrows directing you and each location will be marked with a number sign.
The Studio Tour welcomes eight new studios this year. Kit West and Yaakov Finer are located at Desert Bouquet Studio on Yankie Street showing Kit’s collagraph and scanograph prints, and Yaakov’s minimalist photography. Also on Yankie, Franky DeAngelis creates abstract paintings and nature photography. A block away, visit Linda Chapelle’s studio at MERGE Art Community Space. New to the Tour is Kathleen Koopman’s outdoor Rusty Nest Studio, “where art creation commingles with the garden featuring more art, found objects and materials ready to become art.”
Visitors are also invited to visit her restored vintage travel trailer the Rusty Rest. Annette Rubino-Buckley’s studio is nestled in her garden where she dyes fabric using homegrown native plants. Butch and Melissa Mauer join this year in their shared workspace celebrating wild ideas and unlikely projects.
New Silver City resident Sona Holman creates abstract pyrographic paintings on wood. Long time Silver City painter, Deborah Hutchings, has moved into town and is thrilled to join the Studio Tour this year.
Study the brochure for some of your favorite studios. A couple of addresses have changed: Janey and Suzi are on Market Street and Catherine Russo is now on Black Street. Visit Diane Kleiss at Cliffs Studio where her encaustic work is unique to Silver City. A lovely drive into parts of the country will take you to Alaska Mud Head in Wind Canyon and to Susan Mach’s clay studio in Arenas Valley. Continue from Susan’s to Donna Foley’s rural natural dye and weaving farm.
Studio Tour highlights include historic neighborhoods, remote locations, fabulous gardens, delightful treats, art demonstrations and great conversations. Now a three-day event, it is possible to visit all 27 studios at a leisurely pace. As you visit each studio you will discover a vast array of art to view and possibly purchase.
Should you wonder about Mimbres area SCAA studios, they will have their own Studio Tour in November. Stay tuned this fall.
The Studio Tour brochure and info on all SCAA events go to the website: silvercityart.com. Remember to check www.visitsilvercity.org for all Silver City events.
