New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
‘People need art in their lives’
Event looks to promote arts, artists in a casual atmosphere
WEST HAVEN — A rule of a gallery is that visitors cannot touch the art. On Thursday, however, they at least can talk to the artists.
City resident Samantha Violante, organizer of the West Haven Art Crawl set for Thursday, said she for years has envisioned holding an event where residents meet with local artists in a casual atmosphere, but she had been thwarted by bureaucracy and the pandemic.
“Just being an artist and wanting to have things to do that were creative made me think, if it’s not here, we have to make it happen,” Violante said.
Beginning shortly before 5 p.m., residents can pay $10 for special access to discounted drinks at several bars on Campbell Avenue starting at JR’s Place and ending at Scoreboards Cafe. Participants will get a special tote bag, cup and map detailing the bar crawl down the avenue.
At each bar will be two local artists showcasing some of their work for sale and availing themselves for conversation with patrons and crawlers.
Nick Martin, co-owner of Billie Martin’s Neighborhood Pub, will be pulling double duty — hosting a stop on the crawl and displaying his own photography and paintings.
“At heart I’m an artist, that’s what I do for my other part of my life,” he said. “People need art in their lives.”
Violante said she believes this year is one of the most opportune times to launch arts programming, in part because she’s heard from others that the pandemic has led some people to reflect inward.
“Art can be many forms: it doesn’t have to just be painting, it could be drawing, writing, beading or sewing. I think people are rediscovering that and there’s a lot more interest,” she said.
Violante was born and raised in West Haven, but left to study art and fashion design after graduating high school. She said she worked for seven years in that industry and spent time in “cosmopolitan cities” like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver.
“When I came back to West Haven I realized there’s really no arts here at all,” she said. “I wanted an outlet and to be around other creative people.”
The art crawl program comes as both local arts supporters and city officials are looking to bring more attention to and establish a local arts scene.
Mayor Nancy Rossi has made the completion of a Center Street community arts center into a key component of downtown revitalization efforts. The city received $1.5 million in state bonding last year to continue the development of an arts center in a former masonic lodge. Rossi also proposed allocating $3.5 million of the city’s $29 million in federal pandemic recovery funding toward completing things such as plumbing and wiring in the center.
Local arts advocate Elinor Slomba also has worked to create a digital map of West Haven’s arts scene in the hopes of encouraging collaboration and visibility.