The Artists' Studio of Palos Verdes – A Professional Artist Group
Founded in 1998 The Artists’ Studio of Palos Verdes (TAS) is a professional artist co-operative affiliated with Palos Verdes Art Center (PVAC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community arts organization.
Our goal is to support, promote and develop the creative potential of our artists through the sale of their artwork, and to provide marketing opportunities for our members and PVAC through events and exhibitions.
OUR STORY
In 1987, fifty Peninsula artists made a decision: instead of asking galleries to show their work, they would open one themselves.
They called it The Artists' Studio, a cooperative gallery at the Palos Verdes Art Center, run by artists, for artists. Each member paid $150 a year, took shifts at the front desk, and helped build the walls, hang the lights, and shape what TAS would become.
Nearly four decades later, we're still here. Still artist-run. Still at PVAC.
A Gallery on the Move
Over the years, our gallery has called a few different places home — The Shops at Palos Verdes, The Brickwalk, The Avenue, and The Village — as leases ended and buildings changed hands. Each move was largely built by the members themselves, with architects, painters, and builders donating their time and talent.
More than a Gallery
From the beginning, TAS has been a working partnership with PVAC. Our members staff the gallery, host demonstrations, mentor newer artists, and contribute thousands of volunteer hours a year.
In 2004, member Margaret Mohr organized the first Artist Studios Tour, inviting visitors into eight Peninsula studios for a day of art-making and conversation. That spirit lives on in Tour d'Art, our beloved open-studio event that brings the community into the places where our work is made.
Today
TAS is a juried cooperative of more than 50 working artists: painters, sculptors, photographers, ceramicists, jewelers, and mixed-media makers. Our gallery and gift shop are open year-round at the Palos Verdes Art Center, with work that changes monthly.
What started as fifty artists with an idea is, nearly forty years on, still the same thing at heart: a community of artists making, showing, and sharing their work together.