Now that summer has released its stifling hold on Montgomery County, changing leaves aren’t the only vibrant colors that will delight the senses this autumn. The Crawfordsville Art Walk, now in its eighth year, will decorate the downtown area with colorful and compelling artwork from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday.
This event brings together artists from myriad genres to display and demonstrate their craft for residents and visitors alike. People can enjoy an autumn evening walking to participating locations, marked with red balloons. Each stop on the walk, from Green Street to Wabash College, gives guests an opportunity to discover new art, meet the artists, and possibly take home a one-of-a-kind masterpiece for themselves.
Stops on this year’s walk include the Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County at 222 S. Washington St., which will be featuring its “4-H Art” exhibit with a free opening reception during the Art Walk. The exhibit features local artistic creations from all skill levels, representing artistic media like painting, drawing, photography, fiber art, basket weaving/caning, needlecraft, and more. Light refreshments will be served.
Across the street at the Crawfordsville Public Library (205 S. Washington St.), the Mary Bishop Gallery comes to vibrant life with a wide selection of original art created by local members of the Art League of Montgomery County.
Guests can take advantage of expanded hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Athens Arts Gallery at 113 N. Washington St., as member artists host a pop-up sale of gallery items and visitors may even witness possible demonstrations. Free giveaways will take place on each half-hour! The Fishero Gallery exhibition “Legions of the Brave,” featuring artists Kenya Ferrand-Ott and Ellie Dieckmeyer, will be on display in the Alcove Gallery. Stop by and visit new artesian area, meet and mingle with artists, and possibly find the perfect original work of art to take home.
Nearby at 117 E. Main St., creativeLAB will present some new and original beadweaving designs for this year’s Art Walk. creativeLAB’s compelling new collection of unique necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings feature a variety of visually fascinating stitches from around the world, including Ndebele, Potawatami, Netting, and Peyote stitches. As a special treat, guest fiber artist Cynthia McClure joins us to share examples of her silk dyeing techniques and present live demonstrations periodically throughout the evening.
At 119 S. Green St., the Green Street Gallery/Jerry Smith Studio will feature the artist painting in his studio and showing some of his recent paintings in the front gallery. Throughout downtown Crawfordsville’s streets, local businesses will be displaying art in their windows for visitors to enjoy from celebrated local artists like Kenn Clark, Kathy Houghton, Kym Bushong, Amy Westphal and Rosemary Tanner. At Abbey Elaine Photography at 105 E. Main St., the artists from ASI will be displaying their amazing mixed-media creations.
New this year, the Eric Dean Gallery at Wabash College’s Fine Arts Center, 504 S. Grant Ave., will be open for Art Walk participants, featuring artwork from their fall exhibition, Unholding and The Bellbird’s Morning Song. Featured artists Damon and Jessica Mohl will be on hand in the gallery during the walk to meet art lovers in the community.
Stop by Pike Place and see the newly installed Peace Pole, constructed by local artist Doug Calisch. Made from a nearly 200-year-old beam taken from a grain elevator in Montgomery County, this piece of public art serves as a reminder of our important connection to this place.
Join in the fun at the Marie Canine Plaza. Crawfordsville Main Street is hosting “Chalk the Walk” at The Canine Plaza. Lots of bright chalky materials on hand for expressing creativity and community love. Featuring live music from the Danny Weiss Jazz Duo from 5 to 7 p.m.
To top it all off, Backstep Brewing Co. and The Joshua Cup are participating in the Art Walk again this year. The Joshua Cup will be open until 7 p.m. and will host Houghton’s artwork in the windows at the shop. Houghton and Nina Cunningham along with a few baristas will have a small mural created on the walls in the window prior to the walk as well for art walk goers to enjoy.
Keep up to date with the latest details on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CrawfordsvilleArtWalk.
