Hundreds participate in Art Walk

BELLEVILLE, Ont. (28/09/12)Dennis Stembridge paints as Art Walk participants walk past in search for the next gallery. Photo by Shelby Wye.

By Shelby Wye

Belleville’s art community shares a common dream — to get the city of Belleville to be aware of their presence.

Belleville’s annual Art Walk was held last Friday, bringing out hundreds of local artists’ pieces for the public to see. The Art Walk consisted of a dozen locations in the downtown, each boasting the talents of Belleville’s local artists.

Stephanie Trattner is one of the coordinators of the event. She is also part of the Belleville Downtown Improvement Association (BDIA), and a photographer.

“I just want people to come down and see that art is accessible in our community, see that there is a lot of talent in here and to gain a bit of appreciation for art,” Stephanie said.

Judy Kirkpatrick, a member of the Belleville Art Association, was glad that the Art Walk gave Belleville residents a chance to see what the 100-plus members of the association do. She also hopes that it will inspire other people to join.

“We’d like members,” Kirkpatrick said, “we’re a charity organization and we give back to the town through our Christmas programs and elementary school workshops. We’re strictly volunteer so money is always tight since we have to run the gallery. We have sponsors but we need members.”

The Belleville Art Association has been part of the community for 55 years, and is a member of the Quinte Arts Council along with the other galleries in town.

Shop owners said they were pleased by the turnout.

Fusions co-owner Kathy Huiskamp showcased a few artists in her gift and décor shop. “Definitely more traffic,” she said.

Huiskamp’s shop features artists’ products year-round, and hoped the Art Walk will allow people to really discover what they have to offer.

John Kiser was one of the Belleville pedestrians who took part in the event. Kiser heard about the Art Walk through the local paper, and the posters scattered around town.

“I’m enjoying seeing the variety, the art and what the artists have done,” he said.

Terri Horricks, another coordinator for the Art Walk, has her gallery office on Front Street.

“Downtown Belleville as a lot to offer in terms of culture and I hope they will know that there is permanent art here that they can enjoy all the time,” said Horricks.

The event was sponsored by the Belleville Downtown Improvement Association, which aims to promote all that the downtown shops, galleries and events that happen. Their goal is to involve more people with the downtown.

This is the sixth annual Art Walk, but this is the first year that it has been held in coordination with Canada’s Culture Days. The Culture Days movement tries to raise national awareness of every community’s arts and cultural life. It is volunteer-organized and has been in effect since 2009.

Trattner said next year she wants to involve more multimedia artists, more music and more artists.