An array of artists will fill the streets of Marietta Square with an evening of thought-provoking art, musical entertainment and craft merchants on a free, a self-guided tour showcasing local original art.
On the first Friday of each month from March to November, Marietta Square holds a community art walk that features local artists hosted by galleries, museums, venues, boutiques and restaurants. The final walk of the year, on Nov. 3, will conclude this year’s art walk events.
Marietta Square Art Walk coordinator Stephanie Coston says the walk provides an evening of family-fun and culture building for people in the community.
“It’s a really fun, engaging, sort of an unguided art tour,” Coston said.
Several storefronts will host a featured artist or merchant, including musicians, blacksmiths and glass blowers.
Galleries including, The Salzmann Gallery, Red Door Art Gallery & Studio, dk Contemporary Gallery and Marietta Square Artists’ Attic will allow guests free admission to view current galleries on display.
The Georgia Ballet –photo courtesy of Stephanie Coston
In addition, guests will be permitted free admission to the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art to view the current exhibitions — Within: Looking Beyond the Surface, by Martin Pate, and The Portrait Society of Atlanta, A Juried Exhibition, that are on display through Dec. 17.
“We bring in a different group every month of about 25 to 35 artists on the sidewalks of all different sorts of mediums,” Coston said. “We spread [the artists] all over the park and pair them up with our merchants.”
Coston also says several restaurants and merchants stay open late on the evening of the art walk, and often restaurants provide food and drink specials for the event. She believes the November walk is especially entertaining as the community begins to embrace the winter holiday spirit.
Markay Gallery — Photo courtesy of Markay Gallery
The art walk has been a Marietta tradition for more than 6 years and will recommence in March 2018. Applications for new artists are always accepted and are available on the art walk website.
“We love new applications all the time,” Coston said. “We’re really kind of full, but when someone comes in with something that we don’t have already we get really excited.”
In the past, the art walk has hosted themed walks including a Pokemon-themed walk last year to coincide with the Pokemon Go hype that had hundreds of people flocking the square in search of the animated creatures.
“The artists really jumped in and had a lot of fun with it,” Coston said. “A lot of them did their own last-minute throws at Pokemon.”
A complete list of artists and participants will be available soon on the Marietta Square art walk website.
Free. 5-9 p.m. Fri., Nov. 3. Marietta Square. 770-429-1115. www.artwalkmarietta.com.
Magnolia Heather — photo courtesy of Stephanie Coston
