By THE GAZETTE
OK now. Think art crawl. Like a pub crawl, only instead of beer, there's art - paintings, drawings and sculpture; textile art and jewellery.
And the crawl - actually it's less a crawl than a walk - is through more than 50 artists' studios and lofts in a neighbourhood in which, quietly but steadily, a thriving arts community has developed.
Today through Saturday, in the St. Henri Art Walk, those studios are open to the public. It.s an opportunity to meet with artists where they work, an intimate space generally not open to us.
Entering an artist's studio is coming into a private space, an opportunity to get "a glimpse into how the creative process happens," said organizer and St. Henri artist Jane Zdansky.
It's an opportunity to speak to artists without a gallery as intermediary. Not that galleries aren't important, said Zdansky's sister, Elizabeth, who founded the art walk last year. But they detract from the intimacy.
It's an opportunity for artists to leave out their brushes and canvases and files and stone for visitors to see and ask about. Visit the studio Esther Topaz shares with three other sculptors in the old RCA building at 1001 Lenoir St., for instance, and learn that in the studios of sculptors who work with heavy stone, you find compressors and lifters. Learn how limestone differs from alabaster from African black wonderstone. Learn that it's a dusty business.
The overarching goal of the walk is to expose people to art: Learning about something makes it more accessible. "Having contacts within a community makes you feel you are part of it," said Lisa Hunter, who blogs about the art market (howtobuyart.blogspot.com) and is helping out, as a volunteer, on the walk.
"I think people were excited to hang out in an artist.s space that wasn't commercial - very relaxed, no pressure to sell," said artist Vicki Tansey, who participated in last year's art walk and who shares space with artists Holly
Clockwise from top left: Artist Bertha Shenker, organizer and artist Jane Zdansky and sculptor Esther Topaz, with some of the work they'll be sharing this weekend.
Frisen and Winnie Lafferentz at the Canal Complex at 4710 St. Ambroise St. "It makes people feel artists are real ... To meet the artist and hear the story behind a piece connects them to it."
The St. Henri Art Walk is also an opportunity to visit a part of town many people tend to drive through on their way somewhere else: The neighbourhood running west from the Atwater Market to de Courcelle St., bounded by St. Ambroise to the south and St. Jacques St. to the north, grows daily more interesting as galleries and cafés find their place here.
"When I moved here four years ago, New York artists kept telling me that Montreal had a thriving emerging art scene, but I had trouble finding it," said Hunter, who worked as an editor and publicist for New York museums.
"At the time, artists were moving to St. Henri individually, but it's only in the last year or so that the area has really coalesced into an art scene. I think it's now one of the most interesting in North America."
The art walk also provides visitors with the opportunity to see artists' work in different phases and stages - often with different materials. Montreal artist Bertha Shenker, for instance, shows incredible range in her work, open to the public during the art walk at a gallery space adjacent to Jane Zdansky's studio, the Henri gallery and studio at 310 St. Philippe St.
It's also fun to see how different artists' studios can look. Some are small - like the one belonging to Marc Volikakis at 4370 Notre Dame St. W., at the back of a storefront he is developing into a gallery. Work by Dora Vasquez, who uses such materials as jade, bone and turquoise in the silver jewellery she creates, is also being shown here during the art walk.
At the other extreme is a huge gallery space at 3520 St. Jacques St. W., a former heavy-machinery factory converted by artist/sculptor Jean Brillant into a stunning multi-use gallery and office space. Some of Brillant's own work, large sculptures of metal and stone, are also on display.
And finally, the St. Henri Art Walk is an opportunity to buy art. "A lot of people think you need a lot of money to collect art, but if you have a few hundred dollars, there is a huge selection for you," said Hunter, author of The Intrepid Art Collector: The Beginner's Guide to Finding, Buying and Appreciating Art on a Budget (Three Rivers Press, 2006).
One more thing: Many of the artists plan to serve refreshments - wine and cheese in some cases, tea, fruit and cookies in others. And in some, you'll find beer. Just like at a pub crawl. Hours for the St. Henri Art Walk are 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. today and tomorrow, noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Admission is free. Find copies of a flyer with names of participants and a map at these galleries: Galerie 515, 515 Atwater Ave., Quartier Libre, 4289 Notre Dame St. W., Galerie St. Ambroise, 4030 St. Ambroise St., Studio 105. Although the trail of the art walk can be covered easily on foot, it's a bit daunting to try to visit 50-plus studios all at once.
For a map of the walk, visit geocities.com/artwalksthenri/.