People look forward to the County Studio Tours every year in our neck of the woods. Artist and Entrepreneur Jeff Schaller founded Studio Tours 10 years ago when the Chester County Studio Tour kicked off in 2010. Delaware County Studio Tour followed four years later in 2014 and Montgomery County Studio Tour began in 2017. Schaller was busy gearing up to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Chesco Studio Tour this May and it was just a little over a month ago, in late February, when artists met with Schaller at Chester County Art Association (CCAA) to go over the details. Little did folks know that just three weeks later, life as we knew it, would come to a screeching halt.
With the outbreak of coronavirus wreaking havoc on our daily lives, this year’s schedule had to be adjusted, and quickly. The Chesco Studio Tour is now scheduled for September 18th and 19th and the Delco Tour for October 3rd and 4th. Unfortunately the Montco Tour had to be canceled completely for 2020. Schaller shared the following about difficult decisions he had to make in the last few days and the impact on everyone involved.
Q: When did you make the decision to postpone the Chesco tour, and what does this mean for the program?
A: It was a hard decision to reschedule the Studio Tour, but in hindsight it was the best decision. Things unfolded very quickly and were changing daily, and I was just about to go to print with eight thousand, five hundred 128 page catalogues. While we were all learning about COVID-19, I was scrambling to collect the last remaining ads and sponsorship information.
In the meantime, everyone else was scrambling to figure out what was going on in their places of employment. In the scheme of things, an ad for a program that was going to take place in May didn’t really seem that important. I was also asking artists to commit to the Montgomery County Studio Tour while trying to schedule meetings as everything else was being canceled. The level of frustration that seemed to be mounting coupled with the health risks involved, made the decision quite clear. I would need to postpone the Chester County Tour until September.
At first, I didn’t realize the full impact. I had to cancel the printing of the catalogue, cancel our scheduled ads, and let our designers know they had to stop what they were doing. Most importantly, I had to let the artists know so they could plan for a show in September. For many, it’s their first show of the year and maybe their only show to share and sell their work. This will no doubt have a financial impact for the beginning of the summer. I spoke to business owners and sponsors in the community along with artists involved in the tour to come up with a rational decision that would make sense for everyone.
Rescheduling has had some good and bad effects. A few artists can’t do the tour because new dates conflict with their schedules but, it gives us the opportunity to re-open the call for artists. Some who had prior commitments now have the opportunity to join us this year. All the artists have been super supportive.
Unfortunately, I had to cancel the Montgomery Tour all together. We couldn’t find a date later in the year that would give us enough time to complete everything and that would not interfere with other shows. We are about to launch our online application “Call for Artists” for Delaware County Tour. The existence of the Delaware County Studio Tour this year will depend on how many artists sign up. If there are any artists looking for a venue to show and sell all that work they’ve been creating, now is a great time to apply to a fall show.
Q: What can people do to help?
A: I encourage patrons to check out the website and start following and connecting on social media with the artists who inspire them. Artists love the “likes”, the “follows”, and the sharing. Please come out and support the artists in September!
Q: Any final thoughts?
A: In this uncertain time it is important to stay positive and keep making art. Artists are a creative bunch of people and have been making great use of this time by doing live painting and demos on social media and creating giveaways with their images for screensavers.
With no deadlines for the near future, it’s also a great time to explore new mediums and subject matter or, revisit older works and make them better. I’m finishing up some old paintings that have been sitting in my studio “waiting for something to happen.” I’ve also been inspired to turn some of my paintings into coloring pages so everyone can create art.
Come September, artists will be more than ready to greet the community with smiles and new work…maybe even a hug or handshake.
Whatever you do this week, support the arts!!
About Constance McBride
A native of Philadelphia, Constance McBride lived in Arizona for 16 years, where desert observations made a transformative impact on her work as a research based visual artist. Passionate about contemporary art, she was actively engaged in the local arts community. She served as a board member for several art organizations, managed an artist collective/gallery space, curated and juried several exhibitions and wrote for two arts publications in Phoenix. She taught ceramics at Shemer Art Center and Museum and exhibited her work both locally and nationally. McBride returned to Pennsylvania in 2018 and resides in Chester Springs with her husband and two dogs. In West Chester, she serves as a board member at The Art Trust Gallery at Meridian Bank and teaches ceramics at Chester County Art Association. She also teaches at Clay on Main in Oley, PA. She is a member of American Craft Council, Philadelphia Sculptors, and Women’s Caucus for Art, Philadelphia Chapter.
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