The Studio Crawl Is Celebrating Its 20th Year
September 18th, 2023
By HPR Staff
submit@hpr1.com
The Fargo Moorhead Visual Artists’ much-lauded neighbor lovin’ Studio Crawl is just around the corner – October 7 and 8, noon to 6pm. During the free event, the people who add culture and vibrancy to our communities open their studio doors – to show off their workspaces and tools, talk about what it’s like to be a working artist, and demonstrate their processes. Crawlers are encouraged to ask lots of questions and be inspired! You can find a Studio Crawl brochure at fmva.org, or at a variety of galleries and businesses around town.
It’s Grown!
The motivation behind the Studio Crawl was to have area artists help their fellow artists and design a cooperative project that would support one another.
Getting a group of vastly diverse artists coordinated was no easy task. In fact, the Fargo Moorhead Visual Artists organization was born of necessity to help build that coordination and structure. The first Studio Crawl 20 years ago was a much smaller affair – but an overnight success.
Twenty years later, the Studio Crawl’s impact is impressive. People from all over the region and the country travel to Fargo-Moorhead to meet up with friends and “do the Studio Crawl.” Out-of-towners fill hotel rooms and restaurants, visit galleries, and shop. Locals always reserve that first weekend of October on their calendars.
Why We Love the Studio Crawl
Groups of friends with a designated driver, couples of all ages, families, students who get their brochures initialed to get school points – the crawling crowd is always diverse and (some may say) half the fun! Who better to tell us about this great event than the people who love it? We asked.
“I have attended and enjoyed the Studio Crawl for all its 20 years! When my children were young we would look through the brochure every year, each choose a new studio to visit along with our familiar favorites, circle them on the map, and plan a route. Now I attend with my mom and sisters and do the same thing – stopping for coffee and a treat from Nichole’s Fine Pastry between studios. I usually get a good start on my Christmas shopping, and the people on my list love receiving something special from a local artist!” -Lana, Fargo
“The Studio Crawl is so much fun! Not being from the F-M area makes it even more of an adventure. What a party! I really enjoy that you can interact directly with the artists in their studios and get to see their process. The snacks, sweets, and root beer kegs aren’t bad either!" -Tori, Philadelphia
“The Studio Crawl has become my favorite way to welcome fall each year. A few years ago, I invited my parents from Bismarck and now they insist on making an art pilgrimage every year to attend with me.” -DeAnn, Moorhead
“The Fargo art scene is vibrant and runs deep! I especially enjoyed discovering the typesetting facility at NDSU. I grew up a paperboy and wormed my way into the layout room of my local newspaper. This was pre computer, and…
__293px-wide.jpg)
_(1)__293px-wide.jpeg)
