I was telling a friend about my day Thursday which included giving a speech and my wife giving birth and my friend asked what my speech was about and I said the "state of the arts in Jacksonville". You should check into this group (where I gave the speech) and join the discussion if you have ideas or questions or both. Anyway, I said I left a handout about how we started the Art Walk and he said he'd like a copy.

So here it goes below:

A Primer by Antonio Allegretti

Disclaimer: This was written at the beginning of 2005.

The first Wednesday Art Walk in Downtown Jacksonville was first proposed late 2002 by local artists and arts advocates and spearheaded by Downtown Vision, Inc. Downtown Vision’s 100 Windows of Art program, a precursor to the Art Walk, grew so rapidly and had such a positive response, arts programming became a focus to introduce and re-introduce the citizenry to the Business Improvement District. The 100 Windows of Art program relied on clear, vacant, street-facing, installable, windows to showcase local art. The ongoing revitalization of Downtown soon soaked up many windows and the program lives on in only a few suitable strolling galleries. No less than 80 of the initial windows have seen dramatic transactions, either through the sale of the buildings or lease up.

The Art Walk soon took over as Downtown Vision’s Arts programming focus. A fact-finding mission was completed in December of 2002 reviewing Seattle’s First Thursday Art Walks. These Art Walks have more than 20 years of history and the basic infrastructure helped build the base for what would become Jacksonville’s First Wednesday Art Walk.

Things that worked in Seattle have worked here. For example, art is everywhere. In Pioneer Square, the cornerstone of the Seattle walk, art is on the benches, on the sidewalk, in the trees. Much is the same here, on the sidewalks, in Hemming Plaza and at the Jacksonville Landing, where our Farmer’s Market and Community Art Bazaar reside respectively. Drum circles beat in Seattle just as they do here in Jacksonville, giving the walk a pulse and contributing to the soundtrack. Bands play on the curb, lights flicker on the water, and people stroll our downtown just as they do in many art-forward cities around the country.Everything is a gallery. Certainly Seattle has more galleries and even gallery districts, but the lofts, the offices, and all of the retailers feature art and open doors on Art Walk night. This was important to the foundation of our Art Walk. When we started the walk we had only our Modern (JMOMA) and a gallery on the second level of Modis building (Gallery L) as true galleries. It was important for us to make art venues in non-gallery spaces. Restaurants and pubs, lofts and retirement homes, office buildings and banks, churches and even tunnels, all have been filled with local art through our Art Walk.What started as eight venues has grown into consistently more than thirty venues with even more on the horizon. With attendance growing each month by an estimated 20%, we’ve seen crowds of more than 7,500. Weather has played a particular villainous role on our Art Walk but has proven more bark than bite. Even on terribly rainy or cold (or both) days, the Art Walk brings a large, energetic, and interested crowd. Much can be made of attendance numbers, and to individual venues they are important, but the conversations, the tapas, the wine, the experiences, of our walkers are the real value of the walk, not the clicker at the turnstile.

If you must have a quantitative analysis the best numbers from the walk came from our Marketing Plan. Our Marketing Plan is a comprehensive coordination of sponsored and purchased impressions. We estimate our total reach from our Marketing Plan is nearly 2,000,000 impressions per month. This includes print ads in Folio Weekly, Entertaining U, Downtown This Week, on air with 260 spots per month on WJCT (National Public Radio), Nightly mention on Electro Lounge’s (89.9) Art & Events Calendar, our PBS self-produced television program Downtown Now, Daily Billboards, and our web page www.downtownjacksonville.org which receives more than 1,000,000 hits per month. Flyer distribution (10,000+ per month) and “word of mouth” remains the cornerstone for our marketing strategy. Our flyers go to art departments of local high schools, each of the borough’s shopping districts, key visitor kiosks, local hotels, and en masse to the Downtown workforce.

In addition to our Marketing Plan the Art Walk has been featured and mentioned in many publications and broadcasts. First Coast News has broadcast live twice from Art Walk venues, Channel 4 has monthly Art Walk weather updates, through our official Art Walk Meteorologist Richard Nunn. The Florida Times Union has written multiple stories about the walk and about venues and artists featured on the walk. Our venues and artists, in turn, mention the walk in stories about them. The Art Walk has also been featured in Skirt Magazine, Jacksonville Magazine, Arbus, Florida International Magazine, and The Daily Record. The strength of our Public Relations relies on each venue’s commitment to enhancing one’s experience Downtown while on the Art Walk. Each venue then acts as a PR coordinator expressing their gallery and exposing their artists. Our Art Walk utilizes several street teams to disseminate our flyers/passports. One team focuses on clubs and pubs, one on office workers, one on schools, and one on retailers Downtown and in the surrounding boroughs. Downtown Vision also has its own street team, the Downtown Ambassadors. Ambassadors are crucial to keeping Downtown clean and safe and also are a huge part of Art Walk story-telling. Besides their normal duties of umbrella assists and directions, they serve as flyer distribution, clean-up crew, live-action trolley stops, and a networked communications team vital to a smooth walk. And they serve Downtown all the time, not just Art Walks. More information on the Ambassadors award-winning program can be found at www.downtownjacksonville.org.

What is the First Wednesday Art Walk Downtown?

The Art Walk is a monthly promotion sponsored by Downtown Vision and patron companies to invigorate the streets of the center of the city. Local artists showcase our regional talents in painting, photography, sculpture, music, poetry, dance, and almost anything creative. The backdrop is Downtown Jacksonville’s unique historic architecture, well situated grid system of streets, and of course our beautiful St. Johns River. As many as 34 venues have been on the monthly Art Walk and each is unique. There is no set agenda for visiting the venues, we encourage a “start anywhere” and “go anywhere” approach.

We also utilize creative incentives to compel folks to visit multiple venues. Once a walker has visited 10 or more venues and returns to Headquarters, they will receive a free gift. The gifts are as creative as the program. We’ve given away Downtown Sounds, a cd co-produced with Water Music (Los Angeles), providing a soundtrack to your downtown expeditions, Downtown Ground, freshly ground gourmet coffee sponsored by Downtown’s Martin Coffee Co., and Vintage Jazz Fest Posters, provided by WJCT, our local NPR and PBS stations to name a few.

Why the First Wednesday?

Originally we thought that trying this event on a Friday or Saturday would be too competitive with other events. At the time there were very few people coming Downtown during the weekends. There was no precedent for an event like this. When asked on the day of the first Art Walk (by the board of DVI) how many people would come out, I had to guess. I said 250. We have never had a walk (even in hurricane-ish weather with less than 1000 walkers). We needed a week night were we could compel the 60,000 plus employees to come out after five and enjoy some local art and flavor. Thursday was out because the JMOMA was closed on Thursday nights. A large number of folks attend church on Wednesday which by most accounts is our biggest attendance drawback for having the walk on this night. Going forward, patrons, artists, and venues alike are interested in changing to a weekend night to increase the universe of people who can attend. It is simply more difficult to get folks out on a school or work night. The early consensus favors Friday. Worth noting here is that the Art Walk does not close streets down, import portable restrooms, or otherwise make an “event” out of the walk, making any night a prospect. The real value of downtown and a street-front experience is seeing it for what it really is Monday through Friday and on the weekends. The City of Jacksonville does a most excellent job of throwing events, parties, concerts, and fests. The Art Walk should be thought of as a promotion not an event. I think of it as a monthly symphony of private downtown businesses, artists, and patrons. .

How does a space Downtown become a Venue?

A lot of important infrastructure decisions had to be made to answer this question. The Art Walk itself is limited to the Business Improvement District (the 90 blocks Downtown Vision is charged with advocating and improving). After Parties and associations may be made outside of the BID but the participating venues are (with few non-profit exceptions by trolley) all within the core. A venue must have accessible restrooms and insurance. Each venue is responsible for whatever happens in their venue much the same as any other night or day. Downtown Vision and the Art Walk cannot claim victory for excellent experiences nor defeat for lousy experiences. The beauty of Downtown and the Art Walk is that it is what it is. We are constantly working with managers/curators to represent their venue accurately so that expectations meet realty when a patron visits a venue. Each venue provides its own experience, supplying DVI with info about their space, curating the installation of art, coordinating music, beverages, and food if they wish. Our job is to promote what they are doing (through info provided by the venue) and relay that info to encourage visits to each venue. On occasion we will consult and refer artists to help a venue with their experience, but the experience is usually best left in the hands of the people responsible for the space.

Which brings us to one of the most important maxims of the Art Walk: We do not recruit venues, they come to us. This is easily the best qualifier on interest and earnestness. How do artists become involved in the Art Walk? The short answer is to walk the walk. Find a place that fits your art and try to speak with the person responsible for that venue. I think artists find that most of the venues are more than willing to speak with them and review portfolios. We have also started monthly meetings on the fourth Wednesday of each month as mixers for artists to meet each other and venues and discuss projects and walks. One of the missions of the First Wednesday Art Walk is to provide exposure for any local artist. We do this through our “drop in” gallery, the Community Art Bazaar.

What is the Community Art Bazaar?

The Community Art Bazaar is in keeping with our mission to provide exposure to any local artist through the Art Walk. This space is usually in the Jacksonville Landing, either outside or inside depending on the season (for lighting) and the weather. Artists simply “drop in” on the day of the walk an hour before it starts (4pm). Artists set up their work using available tables and their own easels. We do not ask for registration or reservation. Meaning if you can’t or don’t make it, you don’t feel guilty about missing the show. It is up to you if you want to come or not. We always have a mix of new and recurring artists at the CAB, making each walk special. For some artists it is very difficult to show work for the first time. The CAB strives to be open, accessible, and not daunting. We also charge no commission, meaning, if any art is sold that transaction is the completely between that artist and patron. The Community Art Bazaar has been an invaluable part of the Art Walk. More than 150 artists have shown their work for the first time and dozens have sold work for the first time at the CAB. One crazy night, every artist sold something. In addition to the artists showcasing their work, we invite local non-profits to have a presence at the Community Art Bazaar. Many orgs use the CAB as an additional outreach venue. Much thanks goes to the Jacksonville Landing for hosting this important venue.

Why did we go with slick, edgy art direction for a promotion that seems so grassroots?

We needed to compel folks to come Downtown. Downtowns are thought of as creativity centers. We think our ever-changing art direction helps encourage folks to experience the walk and come downtown in general. What non-profit and civic organizations are or have been involved with the Art Walk? Here is a partial list. Remember, all non-profits and civic orgs are invited to set up a presence at the Community Art Bazaar.Cultural Council of Greater JacksonvilleRitz Theatre and LaVilla MuseumRiverside Avondale PreservationThe Jacksonville Film FestivalThe Jacksonville Jazz FestivalCummer Café NightsJacksonville Museum of Modern ArtJCCI ForwardCathedral ResidencesFirst Presbyterian ChurchJacksonville Public LibraryJacksonville Transit AuthorityKarpeles Manuscript MuseumBrooklyn Arts & Design CenterArt With a HeartCommunity Hospice with Cummer Art & GardensSpringfield Preservation & Revitalization CouncilFirst Coast MPOFCCJCafé Muse & StudiosImprov JacksonvilleFirst Coast ReadsOtis Smith FoundationSix After FiveThe Nature ConservancyThe Florida TheatreWJCTAmerican Ballet Theatre

In conclusion, the Art Walk has been a resounding success. We estimate the economic impact of the Art Walk for the 2004 calendar year at approximately $360,000. Of course the goodwill and transactions live on in tenant lease-up of retail and residential properties Downtown along with the adoption of Downtown as a destination to those who have been introduced and re-introduced to our city’s vibrant, diverse, and emerging urban core.