Savvy galleries set pace with art walks: whether self-led studio crawls or open-door gallery walks, these events generate customer traffic while increasing community awareness of the arts

Art Business News, July, 2004 by Jenny Sherman

On any given Thursday evening in Scottsdale, Ariz., the doors to Wilde M. Gallery are left wide open. Visitors to the town stroll in, peruse the artworks, and sip wine before leaving and continuing their amble through the city's 100-some art galleries found clustered along Main Street and Marshall Way in the downtown arts district. Regardless of sales, Betty Wilde of Wilde Meyer Gallery of Scottsdale and Tucson sees the Thursday night art walk as an essential part of the Scottsdale art scene as well as her own gallery's success.

"It's a big tradition;' says Wilde, describing how the art walks were already going on when the gallery first moved to Scottsdale almost 21 years ago. "Especially being new, we found that it was a great opportunity for the exposure."

Art walks, crawls or strolls occur in many cities and come in a variety of formats--tours of open studios, curator-led excursions, or even ongoing open-gallery events. Galleries, non-profit organizations, art associations, artist studios, and city institutions can host them, whether they are one-time events or established community rituals. Not only do art walks add to the cultural ambiance of an area, but they pose a number of benefits to galleries, including increased gallery traffic, new clients, sales, and even new artists to represent.

Minneapolis: Art-A-Whirl Continues Ascent

Minnesota's largest open-studio and art festival, Art-A-Whirl, has taken place in mid-May each year for the past nine years. Started by a few artists who wanted to bring more attention to the Northeast Minneapolis art scene, the event grew so large in two years' time that they formed the nonprofit Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association to organize it.

Over the years, Art-A-Whirl has added live music, theatrical performances, dance and other special events--such as a silent auction, a live bronze pour and belly dancing--to this year's art walk, which boasted about 15,000 attendees. While about 300 artists opened their studio doors, area galleries also participated.

Such a large event takes considerable planning. "We really ramp up Jan. 1," says Sarah Whiting, who coordinates the event by organizing sponsors and a large crew of volunteers full-time until May. "We put out a 32-page catalog and sell advertising in it."

In the past, some of the operating budget also came from the state of Minnesota in the form of grants, but due to state budget cuts, a $16,000 grant was no longer available this year. Whiting added the silent auction and a nighttime performance event to compensate. In fact, James Page, a local brewer, sponsored the music and donated proceeds from its "Art-A-Whirl Ale"--brewed especially for the occasion--to the organizers. Support from the community, Whiting says is essential for Art-A-Whirl to work.

"Landlords in the area love us," she says, describing the donations from various building owners. "Another landlord doesn't give money, but donates space. He rents thousands of square feet for a buck for the weekend to put displaced artists in the building."

All the effort pays off in the end. "I think we've been responsible for creating a very vibrant art community,' says Whiting. "I used to be a gallery owner, and we'd actually go through a dry spell in the summer. Art-A-Whirl every year kept us open."

Sisters, Oregon: Where April Is Big

The community of Sisters, Ore., plays host to a number of special art walks during the year. The Annual Sisters Art Stroll, held in June, is a community-wide event that includes retailers and fine-art galleries that extended their hours into the evening to highlight local artists and musicians, put on demonstrations, and offer food and refreshments. April's art walk, which includes 46 gallery and retail locations, is the biggest of the year. The September Sisters Art Stroll, typically held the third Saturday of the month, coordinates with a medley of events that draws visitors, including the jazz festival, a Native American western show, a folk show, an annual bike event, and a women's retreat. And the holiday art walk on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend features galleries where a holiday open house is held.

Todd Dow of High Desert Gallery heads the Sisters Gallery Association. Both the High Desert Gallery and Sisters Gallery Association organize the various art walks. "Sisters is a relatively small community that is very centered on the arts" he says. "We're known for being a little Mecca for artists and studios, as well as supporting the arts."

Though the town has only 10 fine art galleries, other specialty shops and retailers round out the arts offerings. During the strolls, sponsoring businesses bring artists who are not represented by art galleries into their locations. It's this partnership between the artist and merchant base in the town that makes the art walks such a success. Those businesses that don't host an artist will often sponsor the events. "We do an art stroll map for all three events," says Dow. "The Nugget News, [a local paper] publishes it, and we get editorial."