Monthly strolls put art districts on display

What, no wine?

Flog me with a Rothko reproduction, but that was my initial reaction when I showed up recently for the Westside Arts District's monthly art walk, aka "3rd Saturday." Just three stops into my budding avocation as a gallery-goer-about-town, I'd already come to expect certain givens from the arts walks cropping up everywhere from Castleberry Hill to Marietta Square:

Free food: Whether it's to attract patrons or fatten up local starving artists, many stops offer light nibbles (cheese and crackers, cookies) and generous pours of wine in plastic cups.

Foot blisters: Even keeping up a brisk pace, it's hard to hit every venue — unless you don't actually stop to look at anything hanging on the walls, which sort of defeats the purpose.

Freakishly similar names: There's a "First Thursdays" walk, a "First Friday," a "Second Wednesday," a ... well, you get the idea. It may not be the most creative approach, but at least it's literal.

That last fact can come in handy when you're trying to hit as many of the arts walks in metro Atlanta as possible in a single month. From Second Wednesdays in the Old Fourth Ward to First Thursdays in Buckhead, all are distinctive in their own way and reflective of their neighborhoods.

Downtown Atlanta's is the only one that stops in a public library and a working artist's studio; Westside's is the only walk regularly scheduled for daytime, which explains why they don't ply you with wine, but do have a stop in a funky coffee shop.

What all the walks seem to share is a friendly, demystifying approach to art that can make a participant feel slightly less stupid about mistaking a gallery's fire extinguisher for a modernist masterpiece.

"People are intimidated by art until they learn about it," said Sandler Hudson Gallery's Dana Marzullo, who helps organize 3rd Saturday. "Making them comfortable with that is what we're aiming at."

Here's a sampling of the area's arts walks, four of which I took in June.

You're on your own when it comes to finding that modernist fire extinguisher.

First Thursdays Downtown Arts Walk

Where it goes: Seven stops in the heart of downtown Atlanta, stretching from Georgia State University's Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design south of Five Points to the Museum of Design north of Peachtree Center.

When it happens: The first Thursday of every month, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The next scheduled walk is Aug. 6.

The "art" of First Thursdays: It started in 2000, making it the granddaddy of local arts walks. Originally, the idea was to make it convenient for people who worked downtown to linger and explore area galleries, said painter Paige Harvey, whose loft/studio at the corner of Cone and Luckie streets is a featured stop. Now, stops like the Central Library at Margaret Mitchell Square and GSU's handsomely refurbished Rialto Center for the Arts frequently time the openings of new exhibits to coincide with First Thursdays.

What makes it special: The chance to talk to artists at length and the parts of downtown even veteran pavement pounders might be surprised to find themselves in for the first time.

Insiders' tip: Don't try to hit everything on one Thursday. Do the Fairlie-Poplar stops, including the Rialto and Arts for All Gallery in the Healey Building one month, and the GSU area attractions the next.

More information: www.atlantadowntown .com/fun/first-thursdays-art-walk

First Friday Artwalk

Where it goes: Some 30 galleries and stores, nearly all located on or just off the Marietta Square.

When it happens: The first Friday of every month, April-October, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The next scheduled walk is August 7.

The "art" of First Friday: Begun in spring 2008 as a way to introduce the square's many offerings, artistic and otherwise, to people. Or reintroduce it, in the case of anyone who remembers the square from its days when it was home to a few antiques shops and restaurants that shut down each afternoon soon after the Cobb County Courthouse. The courthouse is still there, but now so is dk Gallery and — several blocks away on Roswell Street — Avery Gallery and Avisca Fine Art Gallery. Plus funky clothing stores, restaurants, a wine market and even a fitness center that all display art on First Friday.

And we haven't even mentioned the gift bag. Get your First Friday map stamped at enough stops and you get a bag filled with items unique to individual venues (one month, dk Gallery owner Donna Krueger turned painter Paul Short's street scene into postcards).

What makes it special: The Artists Alley, an alfresco exhibit of juried artists chosen each month, located in the Courtyard and Alley along the Marietta Welcome Center & Visitors Bureau at 4 Depot Street. All the work is for sale, and the artists are there and more than happy to talk brushstrokes, camera angles or framing suggestions.

There's a relaxed, small-town feel to an event where people stroll the square with plastic cups of wine, popping in and out of galleries and shops, and occasionally peeling off to relax on a bench in Glover Park or dine in one of the many good eateries. And for those who don't want to stroll, a trolley operates between 6 and 8 p.m. (look for the magenta flags outside stops or check the official map).

Insider's tip: Start early. Three hours isn't enough time, especially if you plan to take in the excellent exhibits at the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, or Avisca Fine Art (which specializes in African-American and Caribbean artists). Both are open in the afternoon, so start your walk there and then head on over to the square.

More information: www.artwalkmarietta.com

3rd Saturday Art Walk

Where it goes: Nine commercial galleries and nonprofit art spaces in the Westside Arts District, the dynamic area that's sprung up between 11th Street at Northside Drive, south to the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center at Means Street.

When it happens: The third Saturday of every month, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The next scheduled walk is Aug. 15.

The "art" of 3rd Saturday: Cleverly designed to make participants feel more informed and curious about art — all at an unhurried pace. The all-day setup allows plenty of time to get to any or all stops; but because it takes place on the weekend, it also encourages "walk"-ers to devote the day to exploring the Westside and its growing commercial and restaurant district.

Since initiating the walks in January, 3rd Saturday's organizers have worked hard to incorporate an educational component into almost everything they do. That doesn't mean some bored museum guide in a blue blazer lecturing dispassionately in front of a painting. Instead, in June, Sandler Hudson Gallery co-director Robin Sandler walked patrons through "Global Static," an exhibition of drawings, paintings, photos and video by married artists Angelbert Metoyer and Charlie Koolhaas. What started out looking like a jumble of pretty and/or pretty eyepopping stuff to a neophyte eventually stood out as a provocative commentary on the impact of globalization on cultural and artistic diversity.

What makes it special: Besides the educational focus, this walk features the most art, proportionally speaking, and perhaps the widest variety.

Except for the stop at Octane Coffee, everything takes place in a gallery — and even Octane showed Atlanta abstract painter Jerry Koepp's work during the June 3rd Saturday. Meanwhile the delicate leaf pattern its barrista etched into my latte foam qualified as a work of art in itself!

The work is as wide-ranging as some of the spaces are small: In June, they ran the gamut from the more traditional paintings and photos by 30 local artists at the Bobbe Gillis Gallery to Brian Dettmer's three-dimensional "found art" sculptures carved out of old books and record albums at Saltworks Gallery. That could explain why this walk seemed to attract the serious-minded patrons.

Insider's tip: Hit the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center first (or last), then drive to the Brickworks development at Howell Mill Road and Marietta Street and park your car in the ample lot around back. Almost every other venue is clustered there around 8th street; it's up to you whether to drive or make the hike to Saltworks and Get This! galleries at 11th and Northside Drive.

More information: www.wadatlanta.org or e-mail at wadatlanta@gmail.com

4th Friday Art Stroll

Where it goes: Dozens of galleries, businesses and "spaces" in the historic Castleberry Hill district, nestled between Spring Street and Northside Drive, south of the Georgia Dome.

When it happens: The fourth Friday of every month, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. The next scheduled walk is July 24.

The "art" of 4th Friday: One of the oldest and most complete surviving warehouse districts in Atlanta, Castleberry Hill has recently become one of the hippest places to live and play in the city. But along with all the condos going up and trendy bars opening has come an influx of artists and galleries — some popping up in reclaimed loft and warehouse spaces. This extremely well-organized "stroll" essentially all takes place on two long city streets — Walker and Peters — and is truly reflective of the neighborhood's intriguing blend of modern artistry, urban pioneerism and good old-fashioned American entrepreneurism.

What makes it special: Practically everything's an art stop here — whether it shows up on the official itinerary or not.