About Savannah Open Model
Time With the Model. Light in the Room.
Savannah Open Model (SOM) is an affordable, artist-led life drawing program rooted in observation, discipline, and community in Savannah, Georgia.
It began at the Beach Institute in 2025 as a grassroots response to a simple need: consistent access to the live figure. When institutional shifts displaced the sessions, the drawing community sought refuge at Arts Southeast and continued forward — uninterrupted in spirit.
Through weekly open sessions and long-pose figure study, SOM protects something rare: time with the model, light in the room, and the quiet rigor of sustained looking.
This is not an event.
It is a return to practice.
A living studio culture built to endure.
Our Mission
To provide affordable, structured, and high-quality figure drawing sessions in Savannah.
We believe:
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Access to the live model should be consistent.
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Discipline builds skill.
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Community strengthens practice.
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Studio culture must be protected intentionally.
Affordable access is not a compromise in quality — it is a commitment to sustainability.
What We Offer
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Weekly open figure drawing sessions
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Long-pose study sessions
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Directed closed sessions
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Opportunities for exhibition and competition
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A serious but welcoming studio environment
All sessions prioritize professionalism, respect for models, and focused working conditions. Time is structured. Standards are upheld. The work comes first.
A Living Studio Culture
Savannah Open Model is not a pop-up workshop or a temporary event. It is a steady rhythm within the Savannah art community — a place where artists return weekly, refine their craft, and grow through repetition and discipline.
It is built on continuity.
It is built to last.
