The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance began the city’s Second Saturday ArtWalk soon after the organization came into being in 2012.
Now, as then, it’s a self-guided tour of artist studios and galleries in downtown and midtown, across several districts. Often with welcoming receptions and special guests.
These days, however, there are more districts (seven) and more studios and galleries (around 40, depending on who’s participating each month) than existed in 2013.
The Second Saturday Artwalk, said Arts Alliance executive director Helen French, has become “a crucial part of our infrastructure as far as creating an arts economy and ecosystem.” An estimated 3,000 people attend ArtWalk each month.
Ahead of this Saturday’s edition (5 to 9 p.m.), French discussed the growing popularity and inevitable expansion of ArtWalk, one of the nonprofit Arts Alliance’s key programs alongside the SHINE Mural Festival, Arts for A Complete Education and the Arts Business Academy.
Doors will be open Saturday in the Central Arts District, Grand Central District, Warehouse Arts District, Uptown Arts District, Deuces Live District, EDGE District and Waterfront Arts District.
At a recent artist meet-up, French said, she heard someone say they plan their visits to St. Petersburg around ArtWalk, “so they can make a whole day of it.”
Still, she explained, “We have a very invested and savvy and smart arts community and arts leaders. We’re in conversations about how to change ArtWalk – how do we respond to the moment?
“It’s Saturdays, it’s from 5 to 9. There’s something to be said about consistency and tradition; is there a need to do something different, or is it doing its job? Those are definitely discussions that we’re having.”
Lisa Lippincott, director of Soft Water Studio in the Warehouse Arts District, said ArtWalk days are vibrant and busy days.
“I’m always amazed at how many people we get into during ArtWalk who have never been in to the gallery before,” Lippincott revealed. “I would think at this point that most people who are on ArtWalk would be repeat visitors, but it is still a way for people to get out and get acquainted with the arts businesses that are out there.
“Sometimes they buy things, sometimes they circle back and buy things later, but it’s definitely getting people out.”
For French and her team, there will always be room to grow. Her most recent idea (it’s in discussions) is to turn the event’s name into a verb – in other words, with the catchphrase “How do YOU ArtWalk?”
Because it’s difficult, if not impossible, to see everything in a single day, she’s suggesting a method of self-curation:
“On some weekends,” French said, “my ArtWalk looks like a date night, and I’ll pick three or four places to go specifically, because I know something is opening, or just opened the night before.
“Other times, if I want my kids exposed to something, I will make a different choice and go somewhere else where I know it’s maybe a little more kid-friendly. Or maybe my kid’s art is in a school show at the Morean. So I will make it a kid experience.”
The point, she made clear, would be “to help our community understand how they can ArtWalk. Where they can go, who’s open, how to plan your time. Get immersed in something. Go and visit a place that you’ve never been before, or go to your favorite stomping ground first.”
Here’s the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance map for the June 13 Second Saturday ArtWalk.
This content provided in partnership with StPeteCatalyst.com
