This weekend, downtown Gainesville will be filled with locally crafted artwork, stained glass, sculptures, jewelry and prints.
The Hippodrome State Theatre is teaming up with the Gainesville Fine Arts Association for the weekend, which will have more than 90 pieces of local art for sale.
Local artists will display their pieces during the Hipp Holiday Artwalk on Friday at the Hippodrome Art Gallery from 7 to 10 p.m. The theater is also hosting the Hipp Holiday Art Market Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
Some artists include Chris Tatum, who specializes in woodwork, Diana Tonnessen, who specializes in colored linoleum block prints, and Marilyn Gray, who specializes in calligraphy and watercolors.
The art walk on Friday will also feature live music from Rafael Riera, a Florida State Music Teacher Association concerto competition winner.
Hippodrome actress Nichole Hamilton, who has starred in local productions, such as “A Christmas Carol” and “Dracula,” will be painting patrons’ faces. The Hippodrome bar will also serve holiday drinks.
The art market Saturday will pair the gallery with a variety of family-friendly activities, including an appearance by Santa Claus from noon to 1 p.m., a kids craft table and live music from Simone, an 8-year-old violinist who won the Longleaf Pine Youth Fiddle Contest last year.
“She is an amazing violinist, and she knows how to work a crowd,” said Meg Westermann-Clark, the Hippodrome’s director of public programs.
Westermann-Clark said she expects a couple of hundred people at the event and more than a thousand people at the gallery throughout the holiday season.
“It gives people an opportunity to purchase local art and see something they might not see elsewhere,” she said.
Pieces will range in price from $40 to $80, with almost every item costing less than $200, Westermann-Clark said. This weekend’s events vary from other local festivals, said Alfred Phillips, co-director of exhibits for the Gainesville Fine Arts Association.
“There’s a lot of credit given to the sports community here, but a lot of outsiders come for art,” Phillips said. “It generates income for the community.”
The events aim to support the artists and the theatre, Phillips said.
“We want people to buy original art, instead of going to Wal-Mart and buying posters of it,” he said. “You can buy first-rate art for the same price.”
Karen Koegel, the president of the Gainesville Fine Arts Association, stressed the importance of supporting local artists and their work.
“Local artists are the core of the town itself,” she said. “They’re the heartbeat of the town.”
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 12/3/2014]
The Hippodrome State Theatre and the Gainesville Fine Arts Association will be hosting the Hipp Holiday Art Walk and Art Market in downtown this weekend. The events will feature artwork by local artists.
