Virtual Gallery Walk returns on Friday
After a successful inaugural run earlier this month, virtual Gallery Walk returns this Friday with the goal of being even bigger and better than the first one.
Downtown Hot Springs galleries have hosted monthly gallery walks since August 1989. The monthly gallery walks, which are traditionally held on the first Friday, continued in virtual form in April due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Gallery owners prepared videos to highlight the exhibits and artists in their respective venues, and the videos were then collected by the Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance and hosted on its website.
Mary Zunick, executive director of HSACA, said the first virtual Gallery Walk went well.
“It went great. I received a lot of positive feedback,” Zunick said, noting the page had over 500 viewers and the goal of the second virtual walk is to attract even more viewers.
She said two more galleries have submitted videos this time and the presentations have expanded to include collectors.
“I’ve asked some local friends who I know appreciate art to share some of the artwork in their home,” Zunick said.
One new gallery to join the virtual
The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen
event is Gallery Central, which did not participate last month because it had temporarily shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary shutdown came only three weeks after they had first opened their doors after moving locations.
Gallery Central owner Laura Scott said she is excited about participating Friday, noting, “I think it is a great idea.”
Scott said it might be a “good idea to keep doing it” after all the galleries reopen, noting the videos are a good way for people who are out of town to see what the galleries have to sell.
Helping her create her video was her son, Bailey Scott, who runs Bailey M. Scott LLC, a videography company. Scott said she enjoyed helping her son edit the video.
While she was enthusiastic about virtual Gallery Walk, Scott said she misses the crowds and “seeing everyone come in,” noting Gallery Walk is a “big social gathering for people who don’t normally see each other.”
Another participant, Dolores Justus, owner of Justus Fine Art Gallery, said the first virtual walk went well.
“It was fine,” she said, but agreed “it’s not the same” as having the live crowds. But by doing the virtual event, “hopefully people don’t forget we’re here.”
“The idea was for everyone who’s used to, and who is missing, Gallery Walk to have a little slice of that,” Justus said.
As Justus runs a gallery, she said she doesn’t get to go to other galleries during Gallery Walk. The videos allow her and the other gallery owners to get a glimpse of what else goes on during the monthly event.
Zunick wanted to thank two volunteers for making virtual Gallery Walk successful. “A huge thank you to Donna Dunnahoe and Bob Dion,” she said.
Each video is between three and five minutes, and can be found at https://hotspringsarts. org/hs-virtual-gallery-walk/. The videos will be posted at 5 p.m. Friday.