All the Details: May 21 ArtWalk

Downtown Charleston will be awash in color, activity, music and more Thursday, May 21 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.  for ArtWalk, a free self-guided art tour in participating downtown galleries, studios and businesses.

The May Downtown Charleston ArtWalk includes 21 participating locations, including new venues West Virginia State University Capitol Theatre at 123 Summers Street and NorthWestern Mutual at 920 Quarrier Street.

Venues and exhibits include:

Capitol Conference Center, 815 Lee Street
Capitol Conference Center will feature The Allied Artists of West Virginia, including Joyce Daniels, Stephanie Ferrell, Deborah Herndon, Sharon McClanahan and Mary Russell. Alison Bibbee will also showcase her oil paintings.

Charleston Ballet, 100 Capitol Street, Mezzanine Floor

The Charleston Ballet will feature the artwork of Michael Teel. His artwork will be displayed at the ballet studios, along with photos from our extensive library of ballets. Watch dancers from the Charleston Ballet in class and rehearsing for upcoming events

Delfine’s Jewelry, 245 Capitol Street
Delfine's Jewelry will feature Sarah Taylor who will be showcasing the art of calligraphy.   

Gallery Eleven, 1025 Quarrier Street
Gallery Eleven will hold its annual sale during ArtWalk. Items on our Featured Wall are priced at up to 40 percent off the original prices.  Guest Artist for May is Ann O'Leary.

Heidi Dylan Boutique, 1031 Quarrier Street
Heidi Dylan will be holding its first Anniversary Celebration with a Sip and Shop event. All shoppers are welcome to enjoy complimentary wine and snacks and shop the newest selections at their leisure. The event will feature a storewide BOGO 50% off sales, excluding artisan pieces and Big Buddha Handbags.

Northwestern  Mutual, 920 Quarrier Street

Northwestern Mutual will be showing the works of Trevor Oxley. He is collaborating with another artist, Jason Spinks. Their work focuses on creating abstract works of art, that once completed, look as if only one individual has created the piece.

Real Estate Central, 5 Summers Street
Real Estate Central will be showcasing artwork from Charleston Catholic High School students. Students from grades 9-12 will be sharing works in various media, created both at home and in school

Stray Dog Antiques, 219 Hale Street
Stray Dog Antiques will feature a new series of mid-century era color lithograph advertisement posters. In addition to several posters the store has never had before, like the Red Goose Shoes cutout poster, and the Miller Fan Belt comic-style illustration, ArtWalk patrons may recognize a few familiar images, from prints we have shown previously from the same editions, such as the Art Deco inspired Revelation Tooth Powder poster, and the ad for Wil White Swimsuits, featuring a lady waterskiing.

The Art Emporium, 823 Quarrier Street
The Art Emporium will present “Be Happy…Works by Linda Conner” during May ArtWalk. Conner is a lifelong resident of Charleston and her interest in art started with an obsession with coloring books as a child.  Linda studied art at Concord College and the University of Kentucky but a decorative painting class set off a spark that has lead to over 40 years of painting and teaching acrylics.  Her art is characterized by her love of bright colors and sense of humor.  She believes that art should be fun to create and to look at and she hopes that her art will make people happy.

The Art Store, 223 Hale Street

The Art Store will feature the exhibition Abstracted: Lost in Thought, which consists of imagery using a visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition Abstracted is an invitational exhibit of works that do not seek to accurately represent, but are actively separating from the representational, using color, texture, line and shape to achieve a composition. 

The Initialed Life/Virginia Lee, 8 Capitol Street
New to ArtWalk this month is The Initialed Life and Virginia Lee, both located at 800 Kanawha Boulevard/8 Capitol Street. During ArtWalk, the store will have its grand opening celebration.

Timothy’s/Quarrier Diner, 1022 Quarrier Street
Timothy’s/Quarrier Diner will feature a performance by the Almost Heaven Chorus during ArtWalk on Timothy’s patio.

Tony the Tailor, 822 Virginia Street East
Tony the Tailor will feature Megan Knight of Knight Vision Designs. She specializes in creating identities that bring unique visibility and distinction to personal and/or business stationery. She has worked for companies within the U.S. and Australia, such as American Greetings, T. Rowe Price, Jack Rouse & Associates and Sarah Hawkins Designs. Also, appearing again this month with a musical performance is Batteries Not Included, featuring the acoustical styling of Rusty Marks and Bill Robinson.

Uncork & Create, 1031 Quarrier Street
Uncork & Create will feature its first Art Blowout sale. Hundreds of Uncork & Create paintings will be for sale for $25 each.  Also, Uncork & Create will be holding a "Cherry Blossoms" painting session from to 6-8 p.m. The cost for this event is $35 plus tax, per person. A local artist will take attendees step by step in the creation of their own 16 x 20” work of art on canvas. To register, please click on Upcoming Events at www.uncorkandcreate.com.

West Virginia State University Capitol Theatre, 123 Summers Street

West Virginia State University students and faculty will be showcasing their artwork, including painting, drawing, ceramics, photography, sculpture, 3-D printed sculpture, digital media and graphic design.

Additional venues participating in May ArtWalk include: Chet Lowther at 223 1/2 Hale Street, Ivor's Trunk at 819 Lee Street East, Mission Savvy at 202 Hale Street, Little Black Dress Events & Rentals at 807 Quarrier Street, The Purple Moon at 906 Quarrier Street, Taylor Books at 26 Capitol Street and The Boutique by B. Belle at 602 Virginia Street East.
 

Additional details about venues and exhibits can be found on the ArtWalk website at www.artwalkcwv.com and on the ArtWalk Facebook page at www.facebook.com/artwalkcwv.

About Downtown Charleston ArtWalk
Downtown Charleston ArtWalk is a free, self-guided walking art tour located in several blocks of Downtown Charleston. This semi-monthly event is held on the third Thursday of the month from March through December, except in November when it is the Friday following Thanksgiving and June when it falls during FestivALL. Twenty Downtown Charleston businesses, boutiques and organizations participate. ArtWalk was founded in 2002 by a handful of gallery owners as a platform to encourage the community to learn about the city’s vibrant arts scene and visit Downtown Charleston. For more information, please visit www.artwalkcwv.com. ArtWalk is coordinated by The Charleston Area Alliance.