Take a tour: Fifty Sandia Heights artists to showcase art work at 15 stops

Twenty years.

This is how many years the Sandia Heights Annual Studio Tour has taken place.

This year, there will be 50 artists showing work among 15 homes in Sandia Heights.

The event takes place from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, and Sunday, Sept. 10.

“This year marks our 20th anniversary,” says Ron Lohrding, spokesperson for the tour. “The tour is spread across multiple stops hosted in the homes of the artists, both indoors and outdoors.”

According to Lohrding, the 50 artists represent an array of art mediums.

“The artists range from seasoned professionals to hobbyists and those showing their work publicly for the first time, but are all residents of the Sandia Heights neighborhood,” he says. “A very limited number of non-resident professional artists may also be juried into the tour as space allows.”

There is no cost or ticketing to participate and at each stop artists will have work for sale.

He says maps can be downloaded from the website and printed brochures will be available at all the stops during the tour, or at the Sandia Heights Homeowners Association office, 12700 San Rafael Ave. NE #3, before the tour.

Lohrding says there’s no one way to experience the tour, and guests can visit one or all of the stops in any order.

Though he does advise not to walk between the stops.

Sandia Heights is nearly 2.5 miles from north to south and 1 mile east to west on hilly terrain, so walking all the stops would be difficult. However, cycling can be a great way to get around. Parking for vehicles is either in the driveway of the stop or along the street. Please do not block other neighbors’ driveways or road access, he says.

If attending, restrooms will be available at three of the tour’s in-kind sponsors – O’Beans Coffee, County Line Bar-B-Q, and Boese Brew Company.