Thirty local artists will throw open their studio doors in San Jose’s Rose Garden neighborhood next month, inviting the public into a building that spent decades as a roller rink before it became one of the South Bay’s most enduring creative hubs. Fall Open Studios, now in its 15th year, runs Nov. 14-15 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Alameda ArtWorks, with free admission both days.
According to the East Bay Times, the event will feature 30 local artists welcoming visitors into their creative spaces across the historic building. The venue itself has a layered past: it was built in 1927 and originally served as a San Jose municipal auditorium hosting meetings, conferences, expositions, and theatrical and musical performances, according to The Alameda ArtWorks. Some longtime residents still remember the building by another name entirely — the Auditorium Roller Rink — where community assemblies, concerts and skating once filled the space, per the East Bay Times.
The transformation from public hall to working artist colony came in 1991, when Falko Forbrich purchased the building and converted it into individual studio spaces, the East Bay Times reports. Decades later, the same walls now provide workspace for dozens of artists working in a wide range of mediums, according to The Alameda ArtWorks’ own account of its history.
A Mix of Mediums on Display
Visitors can expect to see sculpture, painting, and mixed-media work created with a variety of techniques, per the East Bay Times. Artist Stephanie Metz, who is participating in the event, has used wool felt for her pinkness studies, a body of work that frames softness, color and reflected light as active elements, the outlet notes. On her own site, Stephanie Metz invites visitors to get a behind-the-scenes look at her art practice at Fall Open Studios…