The ART DRIVE, an open artist studio tour through the coastal villages of Dartmouth and Westport, generously donated $2,500 to the Lloyd Center for the Environment as a result of recent fundraising efforts during their 2017 drive on August 12th and 13th.

For the past ten years, artists from the ART DRIVE have opened their studios to the public for a weekend in August, showcasing their artwork in unusual and dramatic studio settings. Visitors to the ART DRIVE enjoy a scenic drive through fifteen picturesque miles, as they visit the studios of 29 local artists. The drive uniquely emphasizes a consistently high level of professionalism and quality, and some of the area’s premier painters, ceramic artists, photographers, jewelers, woodworkers, metal artists and other artists participate in this annual event.

Over the past ten years, the ART DRIVE’s artists have donated a percentage of their sales, amounting to over $45,000, to the Lloyd Center for the Environment.

The Lloyd Center is a non-profit organization that provides educational programs on aquatic environments and supports scenic, public walking trails through 82 acres of estuaries and salt marshes in South Dartmouth, MA.

“We are extremely grateful and honored for the support that the ART DRIVE artists have given to the Lloyd Center over the past ten years,” commented Lloyd Center Executive Director Rachel Stronach, “Their generous donations have played a key part in the Center’s ability to continually offer high-quality research, education and outreach programs to visitors and students of all ages.”

This year, to celebrate the 10th Anniversary, ART DRIVE artists put their creative energies into a special project – 10” x 10” wooden panels. ART DRIVE painters, sculptors, jewelers, metalworkers, fiber artists, ceramicists, and photographers once again created unique one-of-a-kind works of art that were sold in a Blind Box Auction during Padanaram Days.

2017 ART DRIVE Artists: Carol Bliven, Morgan Bozarth, Maddy Bragar, Peggy Call-Conley, Beverly Carter, Lynn Chadwick, Sarah Daughn, Deb Ehrens, Gay Gillies, Wendy Goldsmith, Vidar Haaland, Sandra Hall, Sharon Hardin, Nancy Hayes, Michael Hubert, Donna Huse, Roger Kizik, Ellen Langer, Jill Law, Colin McKenna, Dora Atwater Millikin, Barbara Purdy, Marjorie Durko Puryear, Kirt Rebello, Anne Carrozza Remick, Stephen Remick, Jim Sears, Martha Sears, and Susan Strauss.

The ART DRIVE is the region’s only juried, open studio event. It is exclusive to Dartmouth and Westport participant artists and artisans who work primarily from their home studios.