Downtown crawls with culture starting today

By MIKE YOUDS

Art in the Street is back for another celebration during the downtown merchants’ spring festival this weekend, but after too many years to recall, Artwalk has taken a hike.

“We were looking at Artwalk but thought, ‘Let’s try something different,’ ” said Kathy Sinclair, executive director of Kamloops Arts Council.

In its place are a couple of new events designed to attract public attention and participation – Culture Crawl and the Popup Gallery, both of which get underway today (Thursday).

“There’s lots to offer and it’s really for all ages, and it’s all free.”

Culture Crawl takes full advantage of the cluster of art galleries, studios and arts-related businesses within a few blocks of each other in the downtown core.

“We sort of had this dream to put it all on one map. We want to breathe new life into it.”

The tour maps are available at participating merchants and the Old Courthouse Cultural Centre, where there will be an exhibition by Kamloops sculptors Garry Davies and Terry Norlander.

The Popup Gallery, a temporary installation by a dozen local artists in the storefront once occupied by At Second Glance Books, joins the ranks of Kamloops Art Gallery, Hampton Gallery, Chazou Contemporary Art Gallery, The Art We Are and the Karla Pearce Art Gallery to enrich the mix.

“The popup gallery is something we’d heard about them doing in other cities,” including Campbell River on the Island, Sinclair said.

Culture Crawl takes place Thursday from 4-8 p.m. From 7-9 p.m., Instinct Adornment hosts another Body Beautiful: Art Redefined, a unique exhibition of body art. There’s an after-party starting at 8:30 p.m. at Frick & Frack.

The Popup Gallery remains open through Saturday, when the Art on the Street performance plaza springs to life at Victoria and Second Avenue from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

“This is a three-day event, but we plan to make the map available year-round,” Sinclair added.