Art Walk coming to Fort Myers River District
It won’t be long before a group of Fort Myers River District art galleries will light up at night to let revelers inside for art, music and refreshments.
Eleven historic art galleries and venues have united to form Art Walk, a free downtown art celebration, on the first Friday of each month beginning on Oct. 3 from 6 to 10 p.m.
It may be the first art walk organized by this many downtown gallery owners in recent Fort Myers history, said Natalie S. Dunham of the Fort Myers Redevelopment Agency.
Another organizer, Sharon McAllister, agreed.
McAllister, the executive director of ArtFest Fort Myers, has been involved in downtown events for more than15 years.
"I don't think there have been enough galleries to do this type of event, which I think is really cool and exciting," she said.
Participating groups in the year-round event will include:
— Art of the Olympians
— Art League of Fort Myers
— Arts for ACT Gallery and Boutique
— Community Art Showcase in the Harborside Event Center
— daas Gallery
— Southwest Florida Museum of History
— Howl Gallery
— La Casa Del Arte Gallery
— Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center
— Space 39 Gallery
— Union Street Artist Company
Restaurants and other businesses will support the monthly trek also.
Opening receptions will be held at many of the galleries, along with refreshments and music. Friday Night Live, the weekly concert series in the Patio de Leon, will provide a musical interlude between 5 and 8 p.m. as art patrons wander from one art stop to the next.
“Art Walk was formed by the downtown galleries to further generate public interest and solidify downtown Fort Myers as a destination for the arts,” said Greg Knezevich, La Casa Del Arte gallery owner and organizer of Art Walk.
Although some of the stops like Art of the Olympians (open late 2009), Community Art Showcase in the Harborside Event Center (future venue), and the Howl Gallery (coming this fall) will be part of subsequent Art Walks, the inaugural event on Oct. 3 will feature several show openings, including:
— Art League of Fort Myers’ show Cele-BRA-tion, a judged exhibit to raise breast cancer awareness
— Arts for ACT Gallery and Boutique’s opening reception for the Ken Hoffman, Peter Gaztambide and Caroline Krieger Comings exhibit
— the daas Gallery grand opening party
— Southwest Florida Museum of History’s Clyde Butcher Exhibit, with discounted museum/exhibit tickets offered at $5 per person during Art Walk
— La Casa Del Arte, holding the Premier Party for Art Walk
— Space 39, with the Pre-Opening Dark Art Show No. 2, a precursor to the Dark Art Show’s Opening Reception on Oct. 4
— Union Street Artist Company will exhibit “From our Roots to the Future” show
A free trolley service, with stops planned near the art venues, and free parking at the Southwest Florida Museum of History and Harborside Event Center will be available for Art Walk patrons.
A map of Art Walk, transportation and parking will be distributed by participating galleries. For more information on Art Walk, participating galleries and links to gallery Web sites, visit fortmyersartwalk.com.
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