Registration FAQ:

Who can participate? Artists at any level of their career who have a studio or exhibition space in Alameda County or Contra Costa county are invited to participate in the events. This is a non-juried event giving all visual artists in the East Bay an equal opportunity to show and sell their work to the public and to experience the event.

What type of art does EBOS focus on? Artists working in any visual medium including: painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, mixed media, fiber arts, glass, metal, installation, and folk art.  Artists whose primary work falls outside these categories may also be considered, provided their practice fits within the broad definition of visual arts.

Do I have to have previous experience to participate? Artists at any level of their career are welcomed to apply. Artists have been more successful at East Bay Open Studios when their work is presented professionally. Artists at the beginning of their professional career are encouraged to apply to our pilot Emerging Artist Program.

Where should I be located? Most of our artists are located in Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, Albany, and El Cerrito. While Contra Costa county artists are welcome to apply, we’ve seen higher success when there are 5 or more studios located in a city. We encourage you to invite your friends. You are also encouraged to apply for our “Space Request Program.” so you can be located in a more centrally located Community Hub.

What are artists required to provide when registering? All artists will setup an account, pay for a plan, and create their public profile. Your artist profile includes: your name, artist bio & artist statement, category of artwork, city, address, email, website, social media handles, and up to 5 artwork images (jpegs or pngs, Landscape/Horizontal Image orientation, 1080 x 720 pixels, Aspect ratio = 3:2 Rectangle) as well as accessibility information.

What are our Fee Waiver and Space Request programs? Our Fee Waiver and Space Request programs were created to lower barriers and increase access to our events. Our Fee Waiver Program is designed for artists where registration fee is a barrier to participation. Our Space Request Program connects artists who do not have their own studios with Community Hubs—galleries, art spaces, and community venues that offer exhibition space during EBOS. Please apply here.

Will there be a printed guide? After listening to artists feedback, we are focusing our marketing to increase public visitors to artists’ studios. This year’s guide will be an attractive brochure that helps visitors navigate 150+ artists. It will list each artist’s name and their location. This refresh is our attempt to balance the needs of the artists while focusing on the most effective marketing tools to increase visitors.  Doing this also allowed us to upgrade the website and produce more printed materials like event postcards.