Local art talent will be on display at numerous businesses today in Midland as part of the inaugural Midland Art Crawl.
The event, which will be put on by the organization Midland AF, will take place from 6-9 p.m. today at participating businesses including The FAFA Gallery, Hand Café, Velvet Mesquite, the Blue Door, Eccentric Brewing Co. and the Art Council of Midland.
Local artists will participate by showcasing their artwork at those local businesses.
Each business will host the artists and the public by providing live music, food, drinks and other activities.
“We started this to bring together artists, local businesses and art lovers for an evening of fun and entertainment and just the community to be together as one around Midland,” Event Coordinator with Midland Art Crawl Gabi Perales said.
The goal of the art crawl is to bring the art community of Midland together while also introducing Midlanders and locals to the diverse art in the city.
“We love local businesses here in Midland and we love the art community as well,” Perales said. “There are several art associations in Midland so we wanted to be able to work with all of them so this has been really great to meet new people and artists and also work with the associations and we also want it to be an opportunity for the artists who maybe never had an opportunity to participate in a show before or want to sell their stuff and just need a platform to jump off.”
Perales said the event was introduced back in February at an art crawl mixer.
“It was our kickoff event where we had a couple of artists up here who were painting and had some of their art on display,” Perales said. “We had our applications ready to go for anyone who was interested in participating. We had a venue application where we got information about what their business is all about and what they plan on doing for the art crawl for the artists. The same thing goes for the artists. We had an application where they can join in and let us know what they’re all about, what they’re creating and what they would like to participate with us.”
About 20 artists are expected to have their works on display at the different venues.
This will be the first of three art crawls that are going to take place this year. The second art crawl is scheduled for Sept. 2 and the third on Dec. 2.
“All the venues are welcome to come back and participate in the next crawls,” Perales said. “The same goes for the artists. But we want to leave it open to them, depending on their schedule and if they would like to participate again.”
She’s hopeful for a decent number of people that will show up at today’s art crawl.
“We’re excited to see the turnout,” Perales said. “Not just to see who’s curious about the art community but also for these artists where it might be their first time trying out something like this and the opportunity it’s going to bring them. It’s also great to have a night to spend with the community in Midland. You can’t beat that.”
Midland AF was founded in 2019 to help provide resources for locals, transplants and visitors through its website, social media accounts and community events.
The organization has grown since it’s inception.
“Since then, we’ve brought on a couple of team members to work with us and we recently won the entrepreneurial challenge with UTPB so we’re working on developing an app which will feature a business directory which will help find local businesses here in Midland,” Perales said. “You can also find us online and we have a newsletter that goes out every week to let everyone know what’s going on around Midland. We have a couple of community groups on Facebook. We’re here as a resource for those who have been established in Midland or are new to Midland or just visiting as well as helping showcase local businesses.”
If you go
- What: Midland Art Crawl.
- When: Today, 6-9 p.m.
- Where: The FaFa Gallery, Hand Café, Velvet Mesquite, The Blue Door, Eccentric Brewing Co. and the Art Council of Midland.
