Marin Open Studios Founder Legacy Advisor
Kay Carlson has been the executive director of the annual Marin Open Studios (MOS), and stepped down in MOS thirty-second year. She is working with her successor, Kina Lamblin, and MOS Board Chairman Jonah Burlingame to carry on this well- loved Marin tradition. Kay continues to guide MOS in her new capacity as Legacy Advisor.
She co-founded MOS with Tim Rose and Philanthropist Peggy Haas in 1993 to create an event that would support artists to build their careers and connect to the Marin community, art patrons, and youth. In 1996 she and Rose transferred MOS to the Marin Art Council (MAC), who ran it for the next 15 years under the leadership of Jeannie Bogardus. When MAC dissolved in 2011, Carlson spear-headed a steering committee that successfully reorganized. Along with Chairman Bob Amos and a new Board, they transformed MOS into a non-profit corporation in 2013 with the support of Peggy Haas, the founding Philanthropist.
Kay guided MOS through technology and challenges, supported artists during Covid, attracted new donors and sponsors. She is so grateful for the partnership of her husband Don McCartney, MOS Tour Guide graphic designer and wing person, and the many generous MOS Board members with a cadre of volunteers.
MOS offers the public annual self-guided tours of studios of over 275 artists during the first two weeks of May with a 40-page Tour Guide sent to 34,000 residents within Marin Magazine. The MOS gallery exhibit at the Sausalito Center for the Arts (SCA) for 3 weeks gives an opportunity for the public to see one sample of each artist’s work
MOS has a small board and staff with a large volunteer base and ongoing support from the Marin Community Foundation, Marin Magazine, and the SCA, donors, sponsors, and individuals. Please give generously.
Please Use the Marin Magazine Spotlight Article here:
Marin Magazine Spotlight
Kay Carlson, the executive director of Marin Open Studios ushers in a quarter century of community art.
In 1968, artist Tim Rose held a holiday party in his studio space within Sausalito’s Industrial Center Building, inviting the public to explore his private workspace. What began as a simple gathering soon became Winter Open Studios. That event inspired the founding of Marin Open Studios. Each May, MOS invites area artists to open their spaces to visitors.
We talked to executive director Kay Carlson.
MM: What makes Marin Open Studios such a special event?
KC: It is a banquet where everyone gets a seat at the table to feast on color, shape and form. I love seeing the creativity bursting out everywhere in the county and the excitement of families, friends and art lovers experiencing the gallery together. I met my husband, Don McCartney, in my studio during an Open Studios weekend.
MM: Since plein air is your medium, where is your favorite place in Marin to set up and paint?
KC: From my longtime Sausalito studio in the ICB. I walk the waterfront at times of the day when waves, clouds and atmosphere create visual drama. The variety of Marinship life inspires really seeing.
Source Marin Magazine: Caroline Abram