RAD Tour Details!

“RAD Studio Cruise 2011” – Thriving arts district invites Atlanta to an exceptional evening of arts and entertainment

ATLANTA/DECATUR – January 23, 2011. The RAD Studio Cruise returns on Saturday, February 12, 2011 with a greatly expanded list of venues due to our new participation with local boutiques. New this year, area businesses will be hosting additional artists to complement the area studios.

This year marks the RAD Studio Cruise’s fourth annual celebration of local artists. The event continues to grow, offering more to see and do than ever. Thousands of people attend each year, sample a deliciously diverse group of artworks, seeing art in action, enjoying refreshments and performance, and this year, getting to know area boutiques and their artist friends.

RAD Studio Cruise 2011 will take place on Saturday, February 12, 2011, with hours varying by venue but generally coinciding in the late afternoon into early evening, with some venues open late. Visitors are encouraged to stay in the area, and enjoy a romantic night of art paired with the many nearby dining and entertainment options. Area restaurants will be joined by a small fleet of trendy food trucks in providing for visitors culinary experience.

ABOUT RAD STUDIO CRUISE

RAD Studio Cruise continues to grow and gain momentum in 2011, promising an even more spectacular time for art collectors and enthusiasts. The artists of the Rail Arts District create paintings, sculpture, jewelry, furniture, studio pottery, metal work and more. Area boutiques will also show off work by their artist friends to greatly enhance the event.

Every week, hundreds of artists visit the Rail Arts District to work in large public studios like MudFire Clayworks ceramic studio, Amalgam Arts jewelry studio, and the Little Tree Studios community. Academy Theater, Georgia’s oldest independent theater, hosts a small posse of performance companies with a wide variety of programming each month. Other notable area artists include Chris Warner (paint, mixed media), Bart Webb (sculpture), Barry Rhodes (ceramics), Suzy Schultz (paint, etchings), Lora Rust (ceramics), Zach Consorti (furniture and sculpture), and Catherine Goolsby (jewelry). The Avondale Arts Alliance joins RAD this year for the first time with an artist market at the small business incubator at 151 Locust.

All of these studios (and more!) will open their doors for visitors with music and conversation, food and drink, education and demonstration, and a vast smorgasbord of aesthetic delights in all media available for purchase. See the full list of participating venues below.

“RAD Studio Cruise is an amazing opportunity for visitors to forge connections with local artists and experience the creativity and energy happening in their community. We all work together this one day to create an intense, multi-faceted experience that our visitors will be talking about all year. Many of these artists have a national reputation. It is really amazing the quality of artwork being created and number of studios along this little stretch of rail line,” comments Bob Means of Little Tree Studios.

Visitors can download a Cruise Map and Schedule of Events of participating venues atwww.railartsdistrict.com. Individual venue offerings and hours will vary, but visitors can expect refreshments, entertainment, art sales, demonstrations, and music. Admission is free and parking is available at each location.

ABOUT THE RAIL ARTS DISTRICT OF AVONDALE/DECATUR

A vibrant arts district has formed in the Atlanta metro area over the past few years. The area boasts some of the city’s largest community art studios, relocated Buckhead galleries, and dozens of individual studios for visual and performing artists. Reasonably priced industrial space and strongly supportive surrounding communities have been the keys to the growth of this new Rail Arts District.

The action is taking place along a one mile stretch of CSX rail line that passes through downtown Avondale Estates, into the Laredo Drive industrial area, and along East Ponce De Leon Ave toward Decatur. This section of track is flanked on either side by mid-century industrial and warehouse buildings that are increasingly populated by art and artists. Tucked away in these unassuming buildings you’ll find large community art spaces that offer lessons, exhibits, workshops, performance space, studio rentals, classes, and of course artwork sales and exhibits. These large facilities are complemented by dozens of smaller individual studios to form a teeming arts district.