This is Roxbury Open Studios (ROS) weekend, but not all the participating artists are from Roxbury. Just as artists from that neighborhood and other parts of the city are welcome to display their work during the upcoming 2014 Dorchester Open Studios (slated for Oct. 25-26), several Dot artists have been part of the continuing growth and success of ROS, especially since the management of the weekend was taken over by DiscoverRoxbury in 2011.

About a dozen of “our” artists are taking advantage of the open borders policy. The vast majority of them will be displaying their creations in the former ballroom on the third floor of Hibernian Hall in Dudley Square. About a third of artists showing there hail from Dorchester or Mattapan:

A Good Piece of Glass (Glass Design/Glassware), Ayana Mack (Painting), Cagen Luse/950 Design (Illustrator/Screen Painting), Lucilda Dassardo-Cooper (painting), Michelle Green (Mixed Media), Willie Wideman-Pleasants (Cards, Postcards, Books), Richard Howell (Mixed Media), and Renford Reid (Drawing)
Over at a small group show at 11 Montrose St., look for photography by Mary Churchill and paintings by Mereliana Hunte. And Marlon Forrester’s mixed media and photography may be viewed at perhaps the most prestigious location of all: the African American Master Artists in Residency Program (AAMARP) site in Egleston Square.

But it’s not all visual arts to admire at ROS; there are other art forms to actively participate in.
This Saturday and Sunday at Hibernian Hall, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., Grub Street, one of the nation’s leading creative writing centers, offers a free “Jumpstart Your Writing” workshop. Shuchi Saraswat, one of Grub Street’s best instructors, will lead an hour of fun and inspiring brainstorming ideas for stories and writing new scenes. The focus will be on creating memorable characters and settings, inventing plots, and writing vivid dialogue. This session is designed for people interested in writing fiction and non-fiction, but poets will also benefit from the challenge. It is meant to be a supportive and generative experience for both new and practicing writers.

On Saturday only, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., also at Hibernian Hall, De Ama Battle, from the Art of Black Dance & Music, will be offerinf a free African-rooted dance classes for adults and youth.

Some artists participating in ROS see a cramped, rather than expansive future. This evening (Thurs., Oct. 2), from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Haley House Bakery Café, Roxbury Open Studios: (Bitter) Sweet 16, in collaboration with Art Is Life Itself! DiscoverRoxbury, invites the community to celebrate and ponder the 16th annual Roxbury Open Studios. No Space. No Art. According to a press release, “During this panel conversation, attendees will hear the perspectives of Roxbury arts leaders, and join a candid discussion about the current state and potential future of the arts in Roxbury. Then some participants will record and post online a short video of their thoughts about Roxbury’s future as an arts community. Friends and family who were unable to attend the event are invited to record and post their own videos.”

For a schedule of the free shuttle bus, maps, directory of artists by location and by medium, and all other details, go to roxburyopenstudios.org.