Add Culture to Your Week with an Art Walk
After a week’s worth of emails and meetings, sometimes you just want to unwind with a glass of wine and a Netflix binge. But there are other times when the four walls of your office feel like a prison cell, and what you want more than anything else is fresh air, culture, and some socializing. On Friday nights when you just want to get out, there are options beyond the bar.
Most major cities host art walks throughout the warmer months. If not every week, they’re typically held at least once a month, maybe during First Friday events. Art walks give local talents the opportunity to show off their stuff, and you the opportunity to throw back an artisan cocktail while you Snapchat some masterpieces. If you’re yearning for a little more culture during your work week, here are a few pro tips to nailing your first art walk.
- Know which hot spots to hit. Every art walk is designed a little differently. Whereas some make the focal point a local park and bring local bands and food trucks into the fold, others focus on just a handful of downtown galleries and keep the walk relatively low key. Do some Facebook stalking of previous art walks to discern the vibe at your city’s event, and along the way, figure out which galleries, restaurants, or parks tend to attract the biggest crowds. Make sure you don’t miss any of these hotspots.
- Map out your path. The best way to ensure a solid Snap story is to plan your route before the first round of beer kicks in. Since you’ve already done the preliminary research regarding your art walk’s hottest spots, it shouldn’t be hard to map out a path that hits all of them.
- Incorporate cocktail stops. Most art walks include food and drink, served as tapas and glasses of wine right inside the galleries, bottles of beer and barbecue from food trucks, or happy-hour eats and cocktails at restaurants along the art walk route. Figure out how your city’s art walk operates and make sure you plan pit stops for bites and booze. After all, you can’t fully appreciate a masterpiece when you’re hangry.
- Invite the whole squad. Like seeing a show or hosting a book club, doing an art walk alone is just sad. Make sure your entire squad can come join in the fun. Create a Facebook event to keep the art walk on everyone’s social media radar, or send out Gcal invites so that no one misses the big night. You can even arrange dinner and happy hour to kick the night off, just don’t go too hard since you’ll probably be imbibing and eating for the rest of the night, too.
So if you’ve never taken part in your city’s art walk, there’s no better time than this month to join in. Start doing some research today to figure out where and when the next walk will unfold, and make the Facebook event early to secure the biggest squad turnout.
When Is an Art Walk Not an Art Walk? [Huffington Post]
The Definitive Guide to Los Angeles Art Walks [L.A. Weekly]
About Us: Capitol Hill Art Walk [The Capitol Hill Art Walk]