Art enthusiasts and curious visitors surrounded MotherShip Studios within an hour of the fourth annual San Marcos Studio Tour to explore the local art scene.

The San Marcos Studio Tour is a two-weekend event where local artists and art collectives open their creative spaces for the public to visit. MotherShip Studios, a women-built art space that offers studio spaces to local artists, launched the event last week with a kick-off party on April 3.

Rebekah Porter, assistant director at MotherShip Studios, said the studio tour gets people from Central Texas and beyond to see what the San Marcos art scene is all about, ranging from home studios to artist communes. She said she believes the studio tour continues to grow in cultural significance, as she spends less time explaining what it is and more time helping people plan who to visit and make the most of their experience.

“It’s a great way for these artists to not only showcase their skills and the works they make, but showcase where that gets made,” Porter said.

According to Porter, MotherShip Studios co-founder Jacqueline Overby developed the studio tour to build a young and vibrant art scene. She realized artists would leave San Marcos to go to Austin or San Antonio once graduating from Texas State. In 2020, she and co-founder Courtney Peterson rented a warehouse on the outskirts of San Marcos and transformed it into a working artist studio. As Overby worked with Austin art, she saw the city’s model for its studio tour and realized San Marcos could host a local studio tour.

Porter said the only way the San Marcos Studio Tour happens is due to a group of very dedicated artists who work together to solve problems and advocate for the artists. She said in the past four years, it grew into “cultural cornerstone” for the artists in San Marcos.

“In 10 years down the road, someone could pick up a catalog from this year’s tour and be able to have a glimpse of what the art scene was like,” Porter said. “[We’re] always growing and evolving here.”

This year, 86 tour spots stretch across the Greater San Marcos Area, including 22 local business sponsors that feature artists and host events. According to Porter, the number of artists and businesses involved increases each year, as there were 46 tour spots in the first year.

Travis Smith, a visual artist, joined the studio tour for the first time this year. Originally from Houston, he traveled to North Texas before coming to Central Texas for a change in pace and fell in love with the area.

Smith said the studio’s Houston-industrial vibe, mixed with his style of reducing a mess of lines to its core fabric to form an image, made him feel at home. He also said he liked the kick-off party’s turnout, and he felt people were more open and welcoming.

“Here, people actually are searching for good art versus just going out to be seen and stuff like that, so I really like it,” Smith said. “I’ve seen a lot of quality art around here, and I’m happy just to be involved in it.”

Bobby Whitley, a mixed media artist, has participated in the studio tour for three years. He said it provided a larger spotlight for a smaller market and group of artists to share.

“Most of the people that participate in this studio tour get visibility, whereas I think the first year I did East Austin Studio Tour, I think I was stop 186, which is pretty hard to convince people to break away from the core stops or trail off the beaten path,” Whitley said. “But when you have limited options, you get more visibility.”

Alicia Philley, a multimedia artist, was a part of the studio tour since it began in 2023. Living in South Austin but working in San Marcos, she said she doesn’t often get to connect with the community outside of her studio, so the event allows her to connect with more people.

Philley said studio tours help people know artists want to form a connection to the community by opening art spaces to them.

“Having a studio tour and bringing together the artists of San Marcos helps all of us become stronger in what we do, but also it helps people in this town know we’re here because it’s something to be proud of that there are so many working artists in this town, and I don’t think four years ago people knew that,” Philley said.

The San Marcos Studio Tour continues from 6-9 p.m. on April 9 in the JCM Building at 233 W. Sessom Drive with “JCM Open Studios Night” and from 12-6 p.m. on April 11-12 in the Greater San Marcos Area with the “Tour Open.” For more information, visit https://www.studiotoursmtx.com/.