BU, MassArt, Tufts Open Fine Arts Studios to the Public for Second Annual Event
This cross-college “art school crawl” on November 8 will shed light on current graduate students’ artistic processes
Visitors to the Open Studios Spring 2025 chat with artists from the Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Visual Arts during last year’s Open Studios at 808 Commonwealth Avenue. Photo by Wenbin Huang (CFA’26)
BU, MassArt, Tufts Open Fine Arts Studios to the Public for Second Annual Event
This cross-college “art school crawl” on November 8 will shed light on current graduate students’ artistic processes
This article was originally published in BU Today on November 6, 2025. By Madyline Swearing (COM’26)
EXCERPT
Hundreds of graduate students from Boston University College of Fine Arts School of Visual Arts, the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University are opening their studios on November 8 to give the public a glimpse into their artistic processes, current projects, and early thesis research. Open Studios Fall 2025 is a cross-college “art school crawl,” with staggered time blocks to allow attendees to view each school’s graduate artwork. The free event welcomes visitors to BU and the other schools’ campuses to explore their studio spaces and interact with emerging artists.
The collaborative event was piloted last spring. A large turnout and positive public reception encouraged the schools and the event’s sponsor—the Wagner Foundation, a Boston philanthropy—to bring it back for the fall, says Nerissa Cooney, SVA’s programming and media manager.
“Even though we’re really excited about the BU component of it, it is a great opportunity for us to be in dialogue and connect with the larger student artist communities in Boston,” she says. “It’s an opportunity to show the process and materials that you might not usually see.”
Open Studios will begin at the SMFA Mission Hill Building, from 10 am until 1 pm, then continue to MassArt’s Kennedy Building, from 11 am to 2 pm, before ending at the third and fourth floors of 808 Commonwealth Ave., from 3 to 6 pm. Studio visitors are encouraged to drop by at any time during these hours.
“It’s really interesting to see how diverse the art scene in Boston is. It’s very young; we’re all emerging artists. Being able to see my peers’ work in a more professional context is very interesting.”
-Sculpture artist Kal Hart (CFA’26), who previously participated in the spring open studios event