In its 12th year, Art Walk fell on one of the hottest, muggiest weekends of the summer. That didn't stop pedestrians from strolling up and down Whyte, but it did certainly hinder the mood of many vendors. Always the prime venue for artists to reach the very general public, I couldn't help but feel disappointed by the lack of non-commodified art. Art Walk, for most, remains a place to only sell art; but in its history, there have been a very few occasions of performance art and conceptual art, none of which is for sale, but on display for the high volume of transient public to take in a broader sense of "art."
Owning originals is just a baby step to further advancing the art scene here, but giving space and time for investigative art will hopefully become more prominent in future editions of Art Walk.
1 comment:
That would be really nice to see. I was speaking today with someone who's participated in the artwalk for the last two years and said they 'made the mistake' of showing more non-commodified art last year and didn't make half as much as they did this year 'catering' to the 'crowd'. I think most artists on the artwalk are there with the intention of selling as much as possible, and who can blame them? Anyone have ideas as to how we can change the flow to make the walk less commercial yet still proffitable? Maybe if some of the public and artist run centres took part, put up a display?
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