Silicon Valley Open Studios

Connecting artists to art enthusiasts

LATE REGISTRATION FOR SVOS 2022 IS STILL OPEN

If you’re an SF Bay Area artist who would still like to participate in SVOS 2022, you can still register! Just visit the link on the left column. Your bio and artwork will be featured in our searchable online directory, and in the Artist Gallery section of the website. (Please note: It is too late to be listed in the printed directory since it has already been published.)

The traditional in-person Silicon Valley Open Studios event will be held in May, health regulations permitting. We’ll also have an online pre-holiday sale in October or November. 

For this spring, Open Studios will be held over the first three weekends in May:

  • The first weekend (May 7-8) is targeted toward coastside artists
  • The second weekend (May 14-15) is targeted for the Northern Peninsula (from Los Altos & Mountain View north)
  • The third weekend (May 21-22) is targeted from Sunnyvale south

In addition to our general promotion and publicity, there will be focused promotion by geographical area for each weekend, but artists may choose to exhibit on any or all weekends, at their own location or at other artists’ locations.

In the fall we are planning an online sales event similar to what we have done for the past two years, timed for the key pre-holiday sales period.

For 2022, we are maintaining our traditional annual membership, which includes:

  • Participation in either or both events (Spring and Fall)
  • Participation in any/all weekends
  • Printed artist directory for the May event
  • Online searchable artist directory and gallery
  • Artist education program
  • Assistance finding locations to exhibit if needed
  • Publicity and promotion for both events
  • Marketing collateral: signs, posters, directories
  • Convenient online registration

Our online store will be open for the holiday sale, but will be otherwise closed in 2022, given the relatively low volume of sales generated outside of the promoted events.  However, artists will be able to keep their profile on our website with links and contact information.

To participate, artists can register here link to the left.

Fees will be almost the same as 2021 and we are adding a new category for students to encourage young, emerging artists to participate:

  • $195 regular
  • $175 senior (65+)
  • $95 student*
  • $275 late**

* Students: please email registration@svos.org with a scan or photo of your current student ID card. Upon review and approval, you will be sent a student registration code. In addition, if you are under 18, please have your parents or guardian review our artist terms and conditions and email us their permission for you to participate.
** Late registration (after close) may be accepted, but only if it can be accommodated.

More details and registration instructions will come with the opening notification. 

We look forward to working together for a productive and successful year for the arts in 2022!

QUICK FACTS ABOUT Open Studios:

• You can exhibit any or all weekends
• You an exhibit at one location or different locations on different weekends

How to prepare:

• Review terms and conditions for participation
• Decide which date(s) you want to exhibit
• Decide where you want to exhibit (your site or elsewhere)
• If your site, decide if you can host other artists as well
• Decide what artwork you wish to display in your online gallery and prepare your images for upload (see image guidelines).
• Decide if you need to update your artist statement or other information
• Review registration instructions

Staying Informed

To receive updates about upcoming events, registration deadlines, and other information of interest specifically for artists, add yourself to our artist mailing list. Note: This is our primary means of communicating with our artists, so it is a critical step. We do not automatically sign people up. Don’t miss out! Sign up at the bottom of this page and be sure to select the “Silicon Valley Artists” list. You can remove yourself or change your preferred mailings at any time using the “update profile” link at the bottom of our emails.

Once you have signed up, be sure to periodically check your spam folder, especially if we are approaching a new event registration period and you haven’t been seeing our emails. We use a well-known and well-regarded mailing system, but our emails sometimes get wrongly classified as spam. Please help combat this by selecting any of our emails that end up in spam and designate them as “not spam”. This retrains your mail server’s spam filters and helps reduce the number of misclassified messages.

If you think you may have missed an announcement, you can also check our recent artist announcements on this site under “Email Announcements”.

need to REGISTER ONLY once

Remember, only one registration is required for the year. You do not have to re-register for the Holiday Event if you registered earlier in the year.

You will be notified when our shopping system will open for an online sales event. If you need to change any of your gallery artwork for an online event, log in and select Edit Images.  You can then remove pieces and submit new ones to replace them.  When the shopping system is open, submitted changes are normally processed on Fridays.  Let us know if you have any problems.

ARE YOU GOING TO HOST OTHER ARTISTS AT YOUR LOCATION?

If you are planning or willing to host other artists at your site, be sure to indicate how many you are willing to host in your registration on the “Hosting” page.


NEW REGISTRANTS: HOW TO REGISTER

CHECK YOUR ELIGIBILITY

  • You can live anywhere in the Silicon Valley area.
  • Each participant must submit a separate application.
  • Please fill out the application with your real name.
  • A business or trade name is optional but if included will also appear in your listing.

Silicon Valley Open Studios is not a juried event and any artist can participate by submitting an application and participation fee online.

KNOW YOUR SVOS BENEFITS — You HAVE more than ever!

This year, you’ll receive more valuable benefits when joining SVOS!

  • Participation in two promoted events
  • A listing in our Artists Directory – Share your profile, website, and social media links
  • Access to SVOS University – Attend our educational Zoom classes or watch previously recorded classes to learn how to promote your show, price your art, and become an expert at social media and blogging
  • Exposure to art collectors – Showcase your work to patrons of the arts
  • Advertising and PR support – Included for both spring and fall events
  • Networking opportunities with Bay Area artists – Share experiences, learn and grow
  • Join https://groups.io/g/SVOSArtists to connect participate in artist’s conversations
  • Convenient online registration

FULFILL YOUR REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

Prepare for registration now by selecting your artwork and artist photo, creating descriptions, and updating your artist statement, if necessary.

Artists may exhibit up to six artworks in their online SVOS gallery.

  • Prepare Images of Your Artwork and Artist Photo (new this year) – See Image Guidelines page for requirements
  • Write (or Update) Your Artist Statement – See Guidelines for Artist Statement

Detailed instructions for registration are available on the registration page.

Connecting Artists with art lovers

Silicon Valley Open Studios is a popular Bay Area event that has been taking place for 36 years. From open air art shows to online access to artist galleries and interviews, SVOS promotes creating close personal relationships between artists and art enthusiasts.

Our mission is to educate artists about the business of art, help promote their art business, provide guidance for emerging artists, and to create an easy, educational, and enjoyable art-buying experience for the art enthusiast.

Banner artwork by Christine Oliver