Art Walk 17 Crowd Pleaser, Commercial Success

There is never an exact count on visitors to Art Walk, but the anecdotes reveal 2010 as the best in some years. Ask around and you will hear: “Really good crowds,” “lots of sales,” “better than last year,” “a lot of out of towners.” Judy Gibbons says Gallery Michael Gibbons and the Yaquina River Museum of Art saw a lot of people who were in Toledo for the first time. She says a number of them were from as far away as Phoenix and Oklahoma City. Good sales were also reported by the Ivan Kelly Gallery and Studio, Frank Jones, who held court at the Toledo History Center, Gallery Briseño, and the members of the Toledo Arts Guild, who were at Port Station One.

Dave Silwones of Skybound Gallery says he originally thought there would be one artist talking to visitors, one at the cash register and one working at Skybound. However, the crowds were such that “we were all talking to visitors non-stop all weekend.” Silwones and Gibbons both say one of the main draws for Art Walk patrons is the ability to establish relationships with individual artists and get to know them and their perspective. Silwones says this year’s featured artist, Vel Miller, has agreed to be guest artist at Skybound, and will have a large selection of her work on display there for the next two months.

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