On July 25, Columbus’ German Village will open its streets to art fans as the German Village Art League and German Village Business Community combine to host their inaugural German Village Art Crawl.
“The biggest thing that differentiates Art Crawl from other gallery events is that it turns ‘garages into galleries,’ creating a 4-block wall filled with interesting people enjoying great art, great food and fun,” Organizer Betty Garrett says.
The Art Crawl hopes to showcase and sell the work of 25 to 30 artists from the German Village Art League with an array of different styles — from oil paintings to jewelry. The work will be displayed inside Macon Alley garages, village shops and participating businesses.
While this may be German Village’s first “Art Crawl,” the village is no stranger to throwing art-oriented events.
“Back in the early 1990s when there were numerous art galleries in German Village, the German Village Society hosted an event called Gallery Gala where participants were transported from gallery to gallery by limousine,” Garrett says.
However, as many of the art galleries vanished, so did the galas.
With German Village’s first art crawl since the 1990s, the emphasis is not just on visual art, but other facets of the historic neighborhood’s culture as well.
“We will have entertainment including actors from Actor’s Theatre performing in the street and local rock band Stockton Way,” Garrett says.
German Village’s food culture will also be on display with a “tasting of the wares.” Barcelona, Yosick’s Artisan Chocolates, Tony’s, Juergen’s and others will provide samples of their menus.
Garrett has high hopes for the inaugural event.
“We want to create a fun evening for German Village residents and friends to enjoy good art, good food and drink, and one another … We want to create a greater awareness of the members of the village,” she says.
Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the day of the event. Tickets are available to purchase at the German Village Meeting Haus Visitor’s Center and various German Village businesses. For more information, visit http://germanvillage-artleague.blogspot.com.