Celebrate the creative and spirited arts community of Olympia as Arts Walk XLII takes to the streets of the City’s historic downtown. Tucked into a valley at the foot of South Puget Sound, Olympia is the state’s Capital, and also home to a vibrant mix of musicians, filmmakers, writers and visual and performing artists. Dates for the event are Friday, April 22 from 5-10pm and Saturday, April 23 from Noon-8pm.
As day reaches into night, Arts Walk brings together over 130 businesses, hundreds of visual and performing artists with over 30,000 visitors as they welcome the arts in all forms during this twice-yearly event. Literary and performing arts share the limelight with paintings and sculpture. Meet artists from all career levels: pre-school through professional. Listen to a variety of live music including jazz, classical, Danish folk, ukulele, Bluegrass, blues and rock & roll. Learn to swing dance, or attend performances in ballet, Butoh and belly dance. Check out spoken word, storytelling and classic car design. Take in impromptu street performances, and of course, exhibition of fine art from photography, painting and drawing to sculpture, glass, fiber, ceramics, printmaking and more. Always new and different, Arts Walk events and activities reflect the interests of a community dedicated to the role of art in their lives. The festival also includes the spectacular Procession of the Species, an artistic and environmental celebration presented by Earthbound Productions, a colorful and joyous street pageant using the languages of art, music and dance to inspire cultural appreciation, understanding, and protection of the natural world; the Procession begins at 4:30pm on Saturday. Arts Walk is the largest festival of this type in the region – an unparalleled opportunity to embrace the arts and meet the artists.
Don’t Mess With Mama Bear, by artist Lisa Telling Kattenbraker, adorns the cover of the Arts Walk map this spring, made with a wax and dye process called batik. The process is long and slow, involving 15-30 separate steps of drawing and etching with wax and applying various dyes to achieve a wide array of colors, often taking several hundred hours to complete one batik. The artist notes “I create visual stories that the viewer can step into, explore and become surprised and delighted with the intricate patterns, playful colors and emotive quality of the piece. The figures are usually faceless allowing the viewer to bring his or her own emotional moment to the experience.” Lisa sells her batiks across the county, and her work can be seen during Arts Walk at Childhood’s End Gallery, located at 222 4th Ave NW.
Arts Walk is sponsored by the City of Olympia Arts Parks, Arts & Recreation Department and Olympia Arts Commission, with support provided by Art House Designs, Capitol City Press, Comcast, Heritage Bank and MIXX96fm. Arts Walk maps are available at participating locations after April 8, and at The Olympia Center, 222 Columbia St. NW. For more information, contact Olympia Parks, Arts & Recreation at 360/753-8380.
