Fall Arts Walk in Olympia is enjoyable for a number of reasons – family fun, people watching, music, food and socialization. The art itself is also enjoyable for a number of reasons; amusement, enrichment, professionalism and critique, beauty, and awareness.
More than 100 businesses and countless artists will participate in Fall Arts Walk on Friday, October 7, from 5:00 – 10:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 8, from 12:00 – 5:00 p.m. Many businesses choose to create special events for the occasion, with family-friendly activities, wine tastings, musicians, and more.
The City of Olympia, who hosts the event, recommends picking up an Arts Walk map to plan ahead and visualize which places to make sure and visit. Maps are available at participating businesses, or there is a handy online version to flip through.
One participating non-profit is SafePlace Olympia, a resource center for women and families who have suffered abuse or violence. In its beautiful new downtown building, located on Legion Street, SafePlace is becoming more of a visual in the community, hosting events on a main throughway, a perfect fit for Arts Walk.
On Friday at 7:30, SafePlace welcomes the public to listen to live music and view the art work of ‘The Masks We Wear’ project, which illustrates ways to move beyond isolation and effectively support friends and family through domestic and sexual violence.
Women and children used a variety of paint, glitter, feathers, flower, and even paper maché to decorate two masks (or one mask split into two) to express the inner self, and the self others see.
“What you see are often my tears, no smile, so stressed and forgetful, and not emotionally there for my kids…” says one survivor and mask-maker. “What you don’t see is what I will be again when I get my shine back – singing and hiking, smiling and dancing. Protecting my kids.”
“They really got into the projects, some took a month to work on it,” says Kellie Patton, development director at SafePlace. “It was really helpful for them to express themselves in writing and art.”
The intention of ‘The Masks We Wear’ project is two-fold. Not only do families benefit from creative therapy, viewers of the art are encouraged to think about how they can effectively support friends or family that may be experiencing violence.
“The best thing to do is just listen and be present,” says Mary Pontarolo, executive director at SafePlace. Asking someone why they don’t just leave a situation can be damaging, she warns, and that offering SafePlace as a resource can be a good first step—for both the listener, and the abused.
The mask viewing will be open to the public for the entirety of Arts Walk. Photographs by Kevin Wickersham will be on display as well, whose work focuses on viewing the world from a unique and beautiful perspective, to immortalize that moment to be shared with others. He strives to capture the human experience through portraits and occasions both momentous and ordinary.
More than 400 events are planned for Arts Walk, some are deep and thought-provoking, such as ‘The Masks We Wear’ project, others are light-hearted and playful. There is truly something for everyone to learn and enjoy at this two-day event, and if the forecast is accurate, the weather will be just right to explore all the wonders of Olympia’s fall Arts Walk.
