Forget Black Friday shopping—this weekend, the Durham Art Walk Holiday Market can serve everyone on your list, featuring handcrafted works of art from more than 200 artists.
The Durham Arts Council hosts the self-guided walking tour twice per year to provide an outlet for artists of all experience levels in the Durham area. Beginning this year, the fall art walk will have a holiday theme. The artists’ creations include paintings, jewelry, clothes, scarves, hair accessories and sculptures, Barclay McConnell, artist services manager for the Durham Arts Council, wrote in an e-mail.
“There is such a variety of work at this show... from functional to abstract,” McConnell said.
The art walk will incorporate different spaces in the downtown area, including galleries, a furniture store, a metal shop, the Durham Armory Building and all three floors of the Durham Arts Council facility.
Mixed-media displays will include the works of Durham-based artist Mikel Robinson. According to his website, Robinson wrote that his art serves to remind viewers “that existence is a precious gift not randomly given, and that our lives are more than an accidental set of days.”
A focus on recycling underscores the two-day event. Created by three artists using repurposed materials such as glass bottles and tin cans, a series of Burt’s Bees Giving Trees will be scattered throughout the market. Burt’s Bees Lip Balm Tin Ornaments and other original pieces adorn the trees and are available to the public by donation.
Additionally, the Scrap Exchange, Durham’s nonprofit creative reuse center, will offer gift-wrapping services using recycled materials.
Building on this theme, environmental artist Bryant Holsenbeck will sell art sculptures made of reusable items.
“I collect many things, among them, bottle caps, credit cards, pencils, shoes and chopsticks,” Holsenbeck wrote on his website. “I use these everyday items to make work, which transforms the objects and surprises us. We are used to using ‘stuff’ once and then throwing it away... but my work makes me aware of its continual impact.”
In addition to the artwork on display, the event will include live music and food vendors, which will be dispersed throughout the gallery and business spaces, Margaret DeMott, director of artist services, wrote in an e-mail.
The fare-free Bull City Connector will run Saturday, and free shuttles will be available Sunday to transport people around the five different sites.
“The purpose of the Durham Art Walk Holiday Market is to promote artists and also showcase downtown Durham and its many businesses, restaurants and unique entertainment features,” DeMott said.
The Durham Art Walk is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. in the downtown Durham area. More information is available at www.durhamartwalk.com.
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