The ArtWalk Machine (Part I)

I write a monthly column in Northern Arizona's arts and news monthly publication, The Noise. My column is called "Letters from the Creative Bureaucrat." Here follows the column as published in the December issue... (pick up a copy of The Noise, too).

It’s a machine.  It rolls into town like a giant ball of magnetic energy, with an attractive pull of unbelievable strength.  It powers through entire city blocks, and then indifferently moves on its way.  It sucks up energy, but also leaves so much of it behind. We have precious little time to adjust once it has gone.  We attend to what’s left from its wake, clean up its messes, collect its treasures, and try to get some rest.  However, before we get that rest, we see the machine again, coming at us full speed.  It’s time yet again to prepare for its arrival.

The ‘machine’ I’m talking about is the monthly treasure and problem that is First Friday ArtWalk in Flagstaff.  Yes, I said problem.  This story isn’t all pigtails and art sales.

Over the past few years, Flagstaff’s version of First Friday has blown up into a major monthly street party.  The ArtWalk draws so many people in the summer months that our historic downtown has the feel of a street festival without the closed streets.  People fill the sidewalks so full that others spill out onto the streets.  Musicians and street performers take up corners and play raucous tunes, sing sweet songs, and dress in wild costumes that make us wonder.  It brings downtown alive in a way that no other event can.

ArtWalk attracts locals in mass.  They come out to see all their friends, like it’s a monthly reunion of townies.  They come out to see new art and to support the artists who are their friends.  And while locals love it, tourists are mesmerized by its magic.  They see action and fun, art and music, and friendly faces smiling everywhere.  My out-of-town friends visit for the first time and are dazzled: “I had no idea Flagstaff had such a vibrant art scene!”

ArtWalk should be downtown’s perfect business machine.  Depending upon its location, a business could see five hundred people stroll through its doors during the three hour event.  The exposure and marketing alone can be worth the effort, but for many locations, ArtWalk also equals a great sales night. John Vanlandingham, owner of the Old Town Shops adjacent to Heritage Square, says that ArtWalk “has done more for [the economy] downtown than any other single thing.”

However, from the arts perspective, ArtWalk in Flagstaff is far from perfect.  We in the arts community have built a wonderful event that has unending appeal and is literally essential to the health of the downtown economy. And yet artists do not reap the benefits of ArtWalk like the retail stores, bars and restaurants do.  In a tame economy, patrons will eat, drink and wear clothes, but most will not buy art.  And the economy isn’t the only issue.

The arts community is divided as to the value of ArtWalk.  There is a contingent of artists and gallery owners who believe ArtWalk isn’t about art anymore.  Instead, they believe it’s become like a themed party with party-goers who don’t dress for the theme.  Some folks in the arts community believe that artists should be placing their art in galleries, not in restaurants or hallways.  Some gallery owners don’t even stay open for the event; they leave their doors locked and buildings dark.  It’d be a stark statement if any of the revelers outside on the streets noticed.  These gallery owners have grown weary over the years of attending to patrons who enter their space seeking only a free glass of wine and something to eat.

I ask that you don’t take the previous paragraph the wrong way. The arts community makes the ArtWalk what it is, through their enthusiasm, efforts and creativity.  I’m simply pointing out some of the fatigue that exists.

And I like to solve problems.  So, when I see a dilemma like this one, I try to fix it.  In this case, however, there are no easy answers, no simple solutions that jump out to make the ArtWalk better serve the people who build its real draw and power: the artists.  So, I’m going to try to step into the role of observer, and look at this interesting arts/business/economy puzzle from a variety of perspectives.  Over the next few months, I’ll be examining the different aspects of the Flagstaff ArtWalk and talking with those who enjoy and benefit from the event, as well as those who have turned away from it or criticize it.  Stay tuned.

Cheers,

JT