Emily Riggert and Rachel Rushing, founders of Sunset Art Studios. Photo by Rasy Ran
Sunset Art Studios announced that it’s closing its brick-and-mortar space in Elmwood at the end of this month, but there’s a chance to say “goodbye” this weekend.
The nonprofit was founded in 2016 by Rachel Rushing and Emily Riggert to “reduce geographic and social barriers of seeing and engaging with art” and offer studio and gallery space to artists who are members of marginalized groups.
“While this news is difficult to share, given the pandemic, we’re sure it is not surprising,” they stated in a newsletter. “We are one of many entities who have had to overhaul in light of our new normal.”
This is not the end of the venture, which Rushing and Riggert started at a kitchen table, but they could no longer afford their space and need to raise $4,000 to pay back rent from 2020 and “give us a little push on the way to our next chapter.”
An art supply sale and lemonade stand is planned from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday and Monday, June 13-14. Semillitas Book Club will be there Sunday with summer activity kits for kids.
Despite the HQ closure, Sunset Art Studios still has a summer residency for two artists who will work in City Council District 10 or 12 on a project about “environmental issues of our time.”
Their website states: “Such topics could include environmental racism, access to healthy food, air, and water, the impact of human activity on area ecosystems, equitable engagement with the land, etc.”
Find more about the residency here.
