Downtown Winter Art Walk to highlight area artists

December 7, 2021 : The Eagle-Tribune, by Mike LaBella

LAWRENCE — Take a free, self-guided walking tour through the city’s historic downtown district when Downtown Lawrence Creatives hosts the 2021 Winter Art Walk on Saturday.

Area artists and creatives will be displaying their works at various downtown locations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Winter Art Walk will feature open studios, gallery viewings, live demonstrations, performances, hands-on activities for families and other unique offerings throughout the day for visitors to explore the city’s creative hubs.

“The winter walk is such a great opportunity not only for the participating artists, but for the Lawrence community,” said Kathy Reming, a 599 Studio artist and Essex Art Center instructor. “The arts have the power to bring people and communities together. Making the arts a part of our lives can help us to better appreciate ourselves as a community and enrich us culturally.”

Participating organizations include 599 Studios, Ateneo Dominicano, SaludArte (hosted at Colectiva Wellness & Healing), El Taller Cafe & Bookstore, Elevated Thought, Essex Art Center, the public library and One Broadway Collaborative.

Julie Todd, owner of JustJulie and co-founder of SaludArte, said SaludArte began in 2015 as a way for friends and family to financially support grassroots creatives and healers in a welcoming and hospitable space, keeping money within the local economy.

Colectiva Wellness & Healing, owned by Elizabeth Delgado, will be the new location host for SaludArte at 60 Island St. Already a home for seven resident artists and healers to share their art and healing services, Delgado’s wellness business is the perfect venue to collectively showcase SaludArte’s 24 diverse Merrimack Valley vendors with their handmade, homemade art and in-person healing services.

“We have such power when we come together to share our artistic and healing gifts in community,” Delgado said, adding that over time, these are the people who will deepen, strengthen and shape the area’s creative community.

The coordinated marketing of the 2021 Lawrence Winter Art Walk is an effort made by the Lawrence Arts Collective supported by the public library in partnership with 599 Studios, Ateneo Dominicano, El Taller Cafe & Bookstore, Elevated Thought, Essex Art Center, Izizwe Dance Studio, and the Merrimack River Watershed Council.

The Lawrence Arts Collective programming is supported by funding from the Barr Foundation through the MassDevelopment TDI Creative Catalyst Grant program.