Art Around the Park went so well in November that the organizers are ready to do another art walk in Morristown.
Scheduled for Feb. 1, the next walk will add two venues, a free shuttle bus and a meal special at the Hyatt Morristown.
“The mission of Art Around the Park is pure and simple: Create a reputation for Morristown as an arts destination,” said Harry Simon, owner of the Simon Gallery on Bank Street.
Once again, the walk will showcase exhibitions at his gallery and at Gallery Egan; the Gallery at 14 Maple, which is curated by the Arts Council of the Morris Area; and the Hyatt Morristown’s Eclectic Grill. Harry will curate the latter exhibition.
New venues are the lobby of the Gensler architectural firm at 10 Park Place, and the Atrium Gallery at 10 Court Street.
Harry also is curating the Gensler exhibition. It will feature Philadelphia artist Matthew Craig, who specializes in “hard-line geometric abstraction,” Harry said.
The Atrium’s exhibition, Memories of Russell, will honor the late Russell Aldo Murray, one of the founders of Art in the Atrium, and will showcase works by more than 30 African-American artists.
“That show is a fantastic show,” the Arts Council’s Kadie Dempsey said of the Atrium exhibition. “We’re all hoping this art walk will be bigger and better than the last one.”
“The more you can see in an art walk, the better,” Harry said. “Our goal in creating this reputation is to entice anyone interested in opening a commercial gallery anywhere in New Jersey to make that location Morristown.”
Scenes from the first Art Around the Park tour:
A $25 prix fixe menu at the Eclectic Grill after the walk will offer participants a chance to discuss what they have seen, while dining on chicken puttanesca with Mediterranean couscous and seared tilapia with lemon dill butter and zucchini fritters.
The Arts Council counted 120 people at the November event, which was modeled after Philadelphia’s First Friday art tours.
“We learned that it was appreciated, and that it was viable. Enough people in the community, when they learn of it, will come out and take the walk,” Harry predicted.
And if the weather is really cold this time, they can hop a free shuttle bus. Broadway Elite, a bus company that serves the Hyatt Morristown, has volunteered its services.
Alexis Egan, owner of Gallery Egan, said the November walk encouraged her.
“It got a really great response,” she said. “A lot of people signed up for my mailing list . . . People are really excited about it.”
That includes the artists, who plan to be present on Feb. 1, according to Alexis.
Her gallery will be displaying works by Kimberly Martin, an abstract expressionist painter from Philadelphia. Robert Atwell will be featured at the Simon Gallery. At 14 Maple, the Whimsy show will be winding down.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the name of the Atrium exhibition. MG regrets the error.
