Art Walk Central to host 194 artist pieces in Mount Pleasant
This August, Mount Pleasant residents will be able to view the endeavors of community artists during the first ever Art Walk Central.
Art Walk Central is an art competition that will take place from Aug. 1 to Aug. 25. The entries will be featured in 45 venues around Mount Pleasant.
Kathryn Hill, executive director of Art Reach of Mid Michigan, said, as of Monday, 194 artists will be participating.
“We’re very happy with 194,” she said. “It’s a perfect size for the competition."
Lake Isabella resident Sue Brenner will show her piece titled “Wild Flowers.” Brenner said she made flowers from hand-cut, flat glass melted in a kiln and formed in custom-made molds. “Wild Flowers” will be shown at Isabella Bank, 139 E. Broadway.
“I’ve been doing glass for eight years and I’m self-taught,” she said.
Mount Pleasant resident and Central Michigan University alumnus Joseph Gorris will show his piece, a life-size wooden sculpture depicting a grey wolf emerging from the ground, preying on an elk.?His debut piece “How It Grows,” will be shown at Nelson Park, 714 W. Broadway.
“It’s the first time I’ve ever gotten to show a piece to a community this large,” Gorris said.
Art Walk will have two categories: youth, artists aged 12 to 17, and adult, artists aged 18 and older. Each category will have two prizes: the People’s Choice Award and the Best Juried Piece Award. In the youth category, each prize will be $1,000. In the adult category, each prize will be $10,000.
The public will be able to vote on the performances and pieces of art that they like most, via computer or text message. Each voter will only be able to cast one vote.?Voters must go to Art Reach of Mid Michigan, located at 111 E. Broadway, to register to vote.?Voting will take place from Aug. 1 to Aug. 22.
The artists that receive the most votes will win the People’s Choice Award for their category.?The Best Juried Piece Awards will be judged by one or more independent art jurors. An artist’s piece can win both prizes if it is selected by the juror and receives the most votes from the public.
Hill said the approximate budget for the event was between $70,000 and $80,000, but the event is being funded by donations.
“I asked different entities if they’d be able to help us out,” she said.
