Everyone, do the ArtHop
Free art, food and socializing; some of the reasons why the ArtHop is gaining popularity among art lovers
By ERIKA LINDQUIST
It’s evident that word is getting around. The hottest activity in Fresno on the first Thursday of every month is the ArtHop, providing music, sculpture, painting, multimedia and other various forms of art for public viewing.
Gallery 25, at the corner of Van Ness and Mono avenues, is one of the stops on the ArtHop. Photos by Joseph Hollak |
Hundreds of people, including Fresno State professors and students, “hop” from gallery to gallery to not only enjoy the artwork, but also to socialize. There are now nearly 30 galleries in and around town that participate in the ArtHop.
The Fresno Arts Council began the ArtHop when local artists Frank Arnold and Jane Whitchurst wanted to open their studios to the public and allow people to see what goes on behind the scenes. Soon after, galleries and museums caught on and began offering free admission to the public between the hours of 5 and 8 p.m.
“I think the attendance, from what I can recall over the past half dozen years, has more than quadrupled in the past year and a half,” said Melissa Delaney, a Fresno State art professor who has displayed some of her artwork at previous showings.
Delaney said the emphasis is mainly on socializing.
“Yeah, there is artwork, too, and some hoppers are very interested in engaging with the works, but others are out for other reasons, all of which are valid experiences,” she said.
Emi Nakamura, an art major, went to the ArtHop for the first time in April. She helped prepare a gallery for opening night.
“I think it’s interesting to see the artwork and artists,” she said. Nakamura said she’s going to start coming to every ArtHop, mostly to enjoy the social aspect.
“I’ve been an artist in Fresno for more than 50 years, and I don’t think L.A. or San Francisco has anything on us,” said Richard Silva,who co-owns Richard Silva & Dixie Salazar Art Studio. |
Another reason the ArtHop has become so popular, particularly in downtown Fresno, is because it offers a different atmosphere, compared to that of such places as Riverpark, Delaney said.
“Up north (in Fresno), it’s movies and shopping, and a place for teenagers to be seen. Downtown, it draws a slightly different demographic: those interested perhaps in the unexpected and changing nature of new artworks exhibiting each month,” Delaney said.
Delaney also requires her students to attend the ArtHop as part of her class requirements.
“I ask my students to join in ArtHop in an effort to reinforce what they are learning in class, both technically and conceptually, but also to provide an opportunity for them to experience the visual world from other angles,” Delaney said.
There has been a consistent trend of new galleries opening over the past year and a half that have also added to the ArtHop’s growth.
Michael Aguilar, a Fresno State student majoring in art and psychology, recently opened up his own gallery, called 3 Brush Gallery, as an addition to the ArtHop.
Aguilar’s gallery is “offering a fresh experience to the art scene. Not just art receptions, but making an event out of it with entertainment, food, and little twists and turns,” such as belly dancers and hosts with bright-colored wigs tending to the guests, he said.
Along with the new gallery, Aguilar has plans to open a restaurant called The Red Gardenia on the ground level of his building, with art on the second floor.
“People will be able to enjoy California/West Indies cuisine and also enjoy the art upstairs as an added treat,” he said.
Because of the ArtHop’s newfound popularity, people are talking it up, “which infuses the event with even more energy,” Delaney said. “I hope it continues to maintain its current level of appeal for the general public as it also stimulates the artists presenting their works, provoking all of us to delve even more deeply into our subject matters, into creativity, and to raise the bar.”
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