Juniors and seniors majoring and minoring in visual arts at Princeton University will open their studios to share and discuss their works-in-progress on November 20 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at 185 Nassau Street on the Princeton campus. The event is free and open to the public.
The evening of open studios will feature work by students in a wide range of media including photography, sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, graphic design, and film, as well as multi- and interdisciplinary work. The student artists, from the classes of 2025 and 2026, will be present to discuss their work.
“Sometimes the process of creation is as interesting as the product,” notes Jeff Whetstone, Director of the Program in Visual Arts. “Open Studios is a chance for the entire community to see the process of making art where students make it. Being with artists in their studios and having conversations about their work-in-progress is a great experience. Open studios at 185 Nassau is not to be missed!”
At the 2023 Open Studios event a then junior, now senior shares their work with a visitor. Photo credit: Jon Sweeney
Juniors occupy a community of partitioned studios on the fourth floor of the building and seniors share semi-private studios of two or three artists on the second floor.
185 Nassau Street is an accessible venue. Most studios are reachable by elevator with a small number reachable by a chair lift that can be operated independently or with staff assistance. Guests who plan to attend Open Studios and have questions on using the chair lift are invited to contact Kristy Seymour at kseymour@princeton.edu so that the staff can best plan for your visit. Guests in need of other access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at least one week in advance at lewiscenter@princeton.edu
Refreshments will be served throughout the evening.
The Program in Visual Arts at the University offers courses in painting, drawing, graphic design, photography, sculpture, animation, and film and video production. These studio courses emphasize direct, hands-on art making under the guidance of the faculty of practicing visual artists. In order to develop their work, students have access to state-of-the-art technical, analog, and digital labs.
Juniors and seniors pursuing a major in the Practice of Art Track through the Department of Art & Archaeology or a minor in visual arts through the Lewis Center’s Program in Visual Arts have 24/7 access to their studios, an unusual resource in an undergraduate visual arts program. Throughout the year, their work is exhibited in the Lucas Gallery, the Hagan Gallery, the Hurley Gallery at the Lewis Arts complex, and screened in the James Stewart Film Theater, as well in other traditional and non-traditional venues on campus.
Visit the Lewis Center website to learn more about the Program in Visual Arts and the more than 100 performances, exhibitions, readings, screenings, concerts and lectures offered each year at the Lewis Center, most of them free. Visit the Art & Archaeology website to learn more about Princeton University’s Department of Art & Archaeology.
