BY JEFF SARTAIN
Now in its tenth year, Downtown Bloomington Gallery Walk is still a highlight of Bloomington’s vibrant art scene.
Although Gallery Walk has lost a couple of galleries to the recession, Bloomington’s premier art showcase is still going strong. Bellevue Gallery, By Hand Gallery, gallery406, Gallery North on the Square, Glorious Moments Fine Art Gallery,
Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center, pictura gallery, and The Venue Fine Art & Gifts have been joined by Sublime Design and Gallery Group. And, according to pictura gallery owner Martha Moore, Gallery Walk plans to host more events and more art and “expand what it’s doing across the year.”
In addition to the bimonthly receptions, the Gallery Walk committee has added a program called Gallery Works, featuring lectures, classes, demonstrations, and artist meet-and-greets that take place throughout the year at all the galleries. Gallery Works is an effort for the galleries to “involve themselves as much as they can in the community, beyond just one Friday every other month,” explains Gabriel Colman, owner of The Venue. Through the program, he adds, gallery owners aim to foster more “art education and art conversations” in the community.
To expand Bloomington’s artistic reputation, Gallery Walk has teamed with the Bloomington Arts Commission and the Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau to publicize Bloomington as an arts destination for travelers. Ruth Conway, of the artists’ co-op By Hand Gallery, says, “We promote the arts for local people, but we also want to promote Bloomington arts to the rest of the Midwest.”
Also new is the designation “Auxiliary Galleries.” Bellevue Gallery and Gallery Group are businesses that “want to incorporate artwork into what they do,” says Colman. Bellevue is located in the lobby of Bloomington Playwrights Project while Gallery Group is the name of John La Bella’s mortgage company at 109 E. 6th St., the former site of Prima Gallery.
For more information visit gallerywalkbloomington.com.
