Take a peek inside your neighbourhood art studio
West Hamilton Artists Tour this weekend showcases nearly 40 local artists
Picture any one of Hamilton’s diverse neighbourhoods. Now picture those who may live there. Did an artist come to mind? Gordon Leverton bets not — but he hopes the annual West Hamilton Artists Tour will help change your mind.
The West Hamilton Artists Tour (WHAT), which takes place this weekend, gives residents the opportunity to peek into the homes and studios of some of the artists who call Hamilton home.
“I think people like to know that there are artists and creativity in their neighbourhood,” said Leverton, a WHAT organizer and participating artist. “Just like there are doctors or nurses or schoolteachers who live next door, there are artists. It adds a bit of colour.”
The free event, which takes place on Mother’s Day weekend every year, showcases a juried selection of 39 artists from Hamilton and the surrounding area in 17 different
locations in the city’s west end.
Participants will be able to wander in and out of homes and studios, most within walking distance of Locke Street, and take in a variety of media ranging from painting to photography and sculpture to 3D-printed jewelry. Each location offers a selection of work by several different artists, so participants will be able to see a range styles within one environment.
For the first time, this year’s tour — the eighth season — includes several Strathcona-area locations — a testament both to Hamilton’s artistic talent and the success of the tour.
“It’s something we’ve been planning for a couple of years,” said Leverton. “This is the year where we had enough artists where we could expand it a little bit.”