Slightly dampened streets, not spirits, make art walk huge success

The First Fridays Artwalk brought thousands of people to the closed-off streets of downtown Richmond Friday night, despite a bit of rain.

Music and conversation filled the air as people walked from gallery to gallery.

Galleries and restaurants between Belvedere and Second streets were packed with people looking at the new exhibitions.

Attractions and multi-media installations were plentiful-a celebration of the new season and 1708 Gallery’s 30th anniversary. Among those drawing the most buzz was the wearable art fashion show sponsored by 1708 Gallery.

“I liked the piece that won. The guy graduated from the VCU fashion department and his actually used light. I thought all the pieces should have light on them since the fashion show itself was called ‘Inlight,'” said Jessica Kern, a junior majoring in both fashion design and photography.

Christina Newton, the director of the First Fridays and Curated Culture, said the art walk helps promote Richmond’s identity. Curated Culture is a non-profit organization devoted to seeing First Fridays prosper. Their goal is to “help improve downtown and promote awareness of arts and culture and what an amazing art culture Richmond has,” Newton said.

According to the Curated Culture website, it is modeled after Europe’s successful art walks, which have become a part of city life worldwide.

First Fridays started in 2000 with five galleries and nine locations. Among them were Gallery 5, Richmond Public Library, The Black History Museum and Cultural Center. Today there are more than 30 locations, including restaurants and boutiques.

In its first year, there were approximately 17,000 people in attendance in a ten-month period. Another count was taken in 2007 and the number of people had increased to 60,000.

Kirsten Gray, gallery owner and a frequenter of First Fridays, said the event has given a vital boost to the city’s art economy. “It has promoted all kinds of businesses down there. It’s making us a city. It brings everybody young and old,” Gray said. “It’s not just the galleries, it’s coffee shops and restaurants too.”

Kevin Orlosky, assistant director at Gallery 5, also attributed massive profits to First Fridays.

“As far as art sales, (First Fridays) generates probably 50 percent – if not more – of our profits,” Orlosky said.

First Fridays has also been instrumental in drawing more artists to Richmond.

“It’s a big reason that I moved here as an artist, because of First Fridays. It’s a very unique thing; there is a constant inspiration,” said Karen Kain, an artist participating in First Fridays. “I love seeing fresh art every month and seeing excitement around artwork. It validates what I do.”