For wannabe neighborhoods and hipster-saturated hot zones alike, art walks have a way of suggesting some kind of deeper cultural importance. The more suburban/skid row/industrial your hood is, the hungrier its moneyed members are to re-brand it as an orgy of artsy urban living.
An art walk tells everyone who will listen, "Yes, we’ve got so much art, it’s like an art mall over here!" This little game of “If we plan it, they will come” means it’s sometimes hard to say which came first: the art or the walk. This chicken-and-egg dilemma is particularly tricky when it comes to the Downtown Art Walk. At its birth in 2003, it was more like an art pit stop, offering three galleries to 75 walkers. Then the founders of the walk convinced the city to put up some signs rechristening a large chunk of skid row as Gallery Row. Four years later, there are 44 galleries and some 3,000 visitors.
Whether following the walks or giving rise to them, this brand of arts-based gentrification has worked its magic in most of the neighborhoods that feature regular walks. But while some gallery zones are speeding toward priceless, others retain boho cred and prices to match. Whether you become a collector or come to collect the freebies, step out this month for some collective edification at one of our favorites.
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