This weekend, the Days of Artist Studios in Occitanie will take place, giving the public free access to 425 individual or collective artist studios and residencies across 217 communes in the region. Now in its ninth edition, the event will welcome no fewer than 622 artists, including painters, sculptors, ceramicists, photographers, drawers, videographers, and graffiti artists. Visitors will be able to meet creators directly at their workplaces, discuss their works and inspirations, and purchase original creations. The Days of Artist Studios in Occitanie began in 2018, initiated by the Occitanie region, and have grown in popularity over the years. Last year, more than 18,000 visitors attended, four times the number from the first edition. The number of registered artists has also more than doubled in eight years. Carole Delga, president of the Occitanie region, said the event has become a key moment in autumn for thousands of art enthusiasts and lovers of contemporary art. She emphasized that the event supports the region's goal of making culture accessible to everyone, including those living in rural areas. Occitanie is home to more than 12,000 visual artists, making it the fourth-largest region in France in this field. To support the sector, the regional community has allocated 165,000 euros this year for the production of artworks and artist books, as well as 31,500 euros for mobility projects in France and abroad. Since 2018, the Region has also organized the Occitanie-Médicis Prize, which provides an annual artist with a three-month residency at the Villa Médicis in Rome and a grant of 10,500 euros to support their creative work. Visual artist Nesrine Salem, the 2025 laureate of the Occitanie-Médicis Prize, will have her works focusing on mourning practices and intergenerational memories exhibited at the Regional Center for Contemporary Art (Crac) in Sète from October 10, 2026, to February 21, 2027. The Days of Artist Studios will take place on Saturday, October 10, and Sunday, October 11, 2026, across the thirteen departments of Occitanie. To find the artists and open studios near them, visitors can use a map and a list of participants available on the Region's website. The search can be performed by department, commune, artistic discipline, or type of studio. All information and the list of participating studios can be found at www.laregion.fr/JA.