May’s Second Friday Circuit Becomes Spring Art Walk

NORMAN – Two weeks after Norman’s record-shattering music festival, local galleries hope to flood the streets of downtown Norman and Campus Corner with art enthusiasts during the Norman Arts Council’s next monthly Second Friday Circuit of Art scheduled from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, May 8.
 
The new arts loop is a monthly Cleveland Area Rapid Transit route that connects the Downtown Arts District, outlying galleries, performance halls and Campus Corner to accompany an art walk every second Friday of each month. The family-friendly gallery visit doubles as an inexpensive family outing or an inexpensive date.
 
With dozens of local galleries and studio artists involved and a lineup of exhibition openings, live music and more, May’s event could topple the previous three months’ successes.
 
“We anticipate this to be the month where we totally hit our stride,” said Richard McKown, local artist and board member of the Norman Arts Council. “We’re expecting May’s event to be huge. Coming off the incredible success of the Norman Music Festival, combined with the improvements of the spring weather and the word-of-mouth from the past events, this should be the biggest Second Friday so far.”
 
Each spring, local galleries and artists collaborate for a Spring Art Walk. Typically the Friday night before the annual May Fair, gallery owners decided to postpone this year’s Spring Art Walk and combine it with the Second Friday Circuit of Art in order to continue the monthly event’s momentum.
 
May’s event features members of the Norman Studio Artists Association displaying artwork in studios along Main Street, live street musicians such as local blues rocker Daddy Love and other street performers throughout the evening.
 
For only 50 cents per ride or $2 for the whole evening, visitors can hop on a CART trolley at the Old Town Centre on Main Street in front of the Cellar and Copelin’s, or any other stop on the route, and visit participating art galleries and organizations from 6 to 10 p.m. CART riders can get on or off at any of the multiple stops throughout the evening. Local comedian David Bizarro acts as tour guide and entertainer for trolley riders.
 
New changes to the CART route include stops on Asp and Jenkins avenues, allowing better access to local restaurants and other galleries. 
 
Many galleries will be open throughout the evening, with most featuring free admission, live entertainment and other activities.
 
As part of its new Art “à la CART” series, the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art on the University of Oklahoma Norman campus will offer hands-on photography activities, live music and short films by the deadCENTER Film Festival from 6 to 9 p.m. NormanMusicScence.com presents the acoustic Singer/Songwriter Showcase featuring Dylan Hammett, Gregg Standridge and Zach Winters in the Sandy Bell Gallery throughout the evening.
 
The evening will heat up at the Crucible Art Foundry and Gallery with public pours of molten sculpture metal from 5 to 9 p.m.
 
“I hope those who are interested in bronze sculpture will stop by and see what we have in our sculpture garden and inside, as well as learn more about our foundry,” said Steven White, operations manager at the Crucible, a full-service art casting facility and gallery.
 
“We also will be conducting two public pours for those who are interested to see for themselves what takes place when we pour molten metal for sculptures. For those who have not seen the process before, it will be very informative and entertaining.”
 
The Crucible features many local and national artists on display, including local Beautiful Bowls artist Martha Wooldridge and master glassblowers Thomas Kelly, Rick Strini, Bernard Katz and more. Seating is limited and a $5 donation per person is suggested for the evening. The Crucible is located at the corner of Tonhawa and Jones.
 
The Firehouse Art Center, located at 444 S. Flood Ave., will debut the new “Clean Water” Fish Project for all ages. On-site artists will create ceramic fish that “swim” through the air inside the gallery. Local children will paint the fish this summer during the Children’s Summer Art Program at the center.
 
Visitors parking and riding the CART trolley from the first stop in front of Copelin’s are invited to stop by the OU College of Architecture’s Open House Spring 2009, located next door to the Cellar. The open house features student design work from architecture, interior design and landscape design, as well as a tour of the design studios.
 
In conjunction with the unveiling of the Norman Regional Hospital’s public art installation by Jeff Dodd, MAINSITE Contemporary Art at 122 E. Main St. will present a new exhibition with additional paintings by the Oklahoma artist. MAINSITE also will debut a new exhibition of Pop Art works by Derek Erdman titled Fantasy Sports.
 
Sonder Music, Dance & Art at 225 E. Gray St. will host a new exhibition from 7 to 10 p.m. WORD is a language-based exhibition featuring multimedia works by multiple OU art students on Friday only.
 
Dozens of other free activities and openings are scheduled by members of the Norman Gallery Association and its supporting organizations throughout the night. 
 
Other scheduled activities include National Train Day and the Garden Railroad Display at the historic Norman Depot, home of the Performing Arts Studio. Tribes 131 Fine Art & Gift Gallery opens Mother Earth, an all-female artist exhibition in celebration of Mother’s Day including original paintings, pottery, beadwork and jewelry.
 
A complete list of each participating gallery and member of the Norman Gallery Association, as well as a CART map for the evening and instructions for riding, is available online at www.normangalleryassociation.com.