The 4th annual Beverly Art Walk is scheduled for Sat., Oct. 7, 12 to 7 p.m., at sites throughout Beverly/Morgan Park. The Art Walk will feature work by more than 200 talented artists and makers in 55 venues, as well as artist demonstrations, children’s activities, live music, public art, craft beer, and complimentary trolleys. The Art Walk is a free, family-friendly event and attracts more than 6,000 visitors each year.
In addition to hubs of activity from 95th to 111th, Western to Wood, the Art Walk will feature the MT Walk on Walden Festival, presented by the Southwest Chicago Diversity Collaborative, at 103rd Street. The multi-media celebration of walkable, bikable diversity in our community is sponsored by the Chicago Community Trust Acting Up Award.
Beyond our commercial corridors, artists will open their home studios for an insight into their artistic processes, inspirations and work.
A highlight of the 99th and Walden hub will be “Quantum Me,” the public art piece by Chicago artist Davis McCarty that will be installed there. Members of the Beverly Area Art Alliance spearheaded the project, working with Ald. Matt O’Shea and a volunteer committee of local residents, business owners and civic representatives. The project is funded by the City of Chicago’s 50×50 Neighborhood Arts Initiative.
Alternative exhibition spaces will also be featured, including Boundary, a Morgan Park garage that has been transformed into a gallery, and a live performance/sound piece outside a home in East Beverly by the artist Brother El, in partnership with Terrain Exhibitions.
Free live music performances, from blues to folk, jazz to rock n roll, as well as The School of Rock and Ayana Contreras, a producer, host, and dj at WBEZ, will be showcased throughout the day. Art Walk festivities end with a closing party at Horse Thief Hollow, 10426 S. Western, 7 to 10 p.m., featuring the New Orleans-influenced funk, R&B, and jazz tunes of The Big Lagniappe.
The Beverly Art Walk is organized by the Beverly Area Arts Alliance, a volunteer-run 501c3 not for profit organization that relies on the support and participation of Beverly/Morgan Park’s residents and business community. This year, organizers are excited to welcome some of the neighborhood’s newest small businesses, including Open Outcry Brewing Co., Marlo Hair Salon, Capsule, and B-Sides Coffee + Tea, in addition to returning venues and pop-up galleries. Artists from the Chicagoland area, as well as surrounding states, will display work ranging from paintings and sculpture to handmade candles and jewelry. Artists will be present to talk about their work, most of which will be available for purchase.
For more information about the Beverly Area Arts Alliance, visit www.beverlyarts.org.
