What is the Sausalito Art Colony?
Sausalito has often been referred to in the press and in travel books as an Artist Colony, and visitors here often ask where that "Sausalito Art Colony" could be found. Local cartoonist Phil Frank even created a character named Arthur "Art" Colony after hearing the phrase repeated so many times.
What is our Sausalito Artists Colony? The answer is that art and artists permeate much of our town, and there is no one spot that you can point to and say "That's it."
That said, here are some of the spots in Sausalito that are part of our having earned that reputation.
ICB Artists Association -- This group of over 100 practicing artists work in the ICB Building, a converted World War II shipyard building in northern Sausalito. Many artists have open studio hours where you can come and see their work, and others will gladly open their studio if you call ahead.
Studio 333 -- A smaller collection of artists at 333 Caledonia St. Like the ICB, you can call ahead to confirm they're available to show their work.
Sausalito Art Galleries -- There are a wide range of galleries in Sausalito, offering works of art in all kinds of media and styles. You can find everything from inexpensive prints to very expensive paintings by renowned artists. In particular, local artists are featured at Gallery 111 (from the ICB Artists Association), at Studio 333, and the artist-owned Tapia Art Gallery.
Sausalito Art Festival -- Each Labor Day Weekend artists travel from all over the world to exhibit their works here in Sausalito. The Sausalito Art Festival is the largest outdoor art festival in North America, and also features major musical acts.
Artists of OurSausalito.com -- We periodically feature the work of Sausalito artists here on OurSausalito.com.
Sausalito Floating Homes Community -- There is a false assumption that all the artists in Sausalito live in houseboats, and that most of the people living in houseboats are artists. Although there are pockets of artists on some of the docks like Galilee Harbor, Artists of Issaquah and others, people from many other walks of life also live in our floating home community. Some of our best known local artists live in the hills of Sausalito rather than on houseboats.
If you're interested in how Sausalito came to be known as an artists community, check out the Sausalito Historical Society.
