It’s a special time for artists in the Newmarket area with the 15th annual Artwalk & Studio Tour quickly approaching.
Earlier this week, several of the Newmarket Group of Artists met at the new York Region trail marker to announce this year’s ArtWalk.
The Newmarket Group of Artists initially formed in 2009 to launch the inaugural Newmarket Studio Tour to support and build awareness of visual artists in Newmarket.
This year the walk includes 37 local artists, from Newmarket and surrounding areas, being hosted in 11 venues.
“Each year we have a returning core of artists; people who consistently have beautiful art that the community enjoys seeing,” said Robin Burnett, member of the Newmarket Group of Artists and one of the organizers of the walk. “We also add several new artists each year, we have about six or seven this year.”
The free tour will be the weekend of Oct. 14 and 15 and the fully walkable event will be along and around Main Street. It will also provide the opportunity to visit with artists and purchase original art.
“It’s very important for the artists,” said Burnett. “They value having a place to show their work locally. But it’s also important from a community perspective because we get a lot of the same visitors year after year. People like to come back and it brings new people to the community. We want to attract tourism to Newmarket.”
This year’s venues are the Newmarket Community Centre, Fair Chance Learning, Hungry Brew Hops, Thrive Urban Wellness, Good Vibes on Main, The Marc Group, Metropolis, Mercantile + Cafe, Trinity United Church, Main Street Realty and an artist studio.
“Our hosts graciously open their doors for our artists,” said Burnett. “And it’s a great opportunity to look around Main Street Newmarket and experience our beautiful downtown while getting to see original local art.”
Supporting local businesses has always been a key pillar of the walk and Burnett says working with the town to have cultural events like this on Main Street can be so important.
“Hopefully it supports our downtown business when people come to see the work,” she said. “We want them to stay for dinner or have their morning coffee here or do some shopping. It’s going to be incredibly valuable once the Postmark Hotel opens because then people will have a place to stay within the downtown core.”
To make this year’s walk an even more community friendly experience that promotes Newmarket’s downtown, the venues will be closer together and include more local businesses.
“It will be even more walkable,” said Burnett. “It’s nice to make things easier for the community and it’s not only about supporting us as an organization, we want to draw people into the downtown.”
Artists’ works this year include photography, textile design, jewelry, mixed media, oils, watercolours, stained glass and ceramics. Genres range from traditional to contemporary and experimental.
“It’s a broad range of mediums,” said Burnett. “The public enjoys different types of art. Some people look for something very specific for their homes while others want something more practical and others want something very unique. Not everyone likes the same genre, and it’s nice to have that variety.”
Learn more about the Artwalk & Studio Tour here.
