"It was a vibrancy very much like Bemidji. A vibrancy of art, of spoke word, of theater and music and it was just this gorgeous little town and there were these sculptures on the corner and we thought, this is really cool to have an outdoor gallery lik this where artists are allowed to display the things they think about and work on. And, you can't avoid it. You can avoid goinmg into a gallery. You can't avoid the sculpture walk. So, it's art on display. Everyboy has an opinion of one way sort of another about it. And it started to happen. We brought that back to Bemidji...It's been an amazing project." - Al Belleveau on how Grand Junction CO inspired the sculpture walk
Downtown Bemidji will celebrate 20 years of the Bemidji Sculpture Walk Saturday afternoon. Beltrami Avenue between 3rd and 4th street in downtown Bemidji will transform into a block party celebrating sculptureSaturday, May 22. From 4-8pm. The street will be sprinkled with living art experiences ....At designated times, local actors depicting sculptures and sculptors will share their stories. Al Belleveau will facilitate a community sculpture throughout the evening, Alan Milligan will conduct a bronze pour. Molly Wiste will demonstrate her chain saw art. Local musicians will stroll the street making music.
Cate and Al Belleveau were major forces behind its existenc. In this Area Voices segment, they talk about how the sculpture walk began and the celebration in downtown Bemidji Saturday.
"I love to watch people interacting with the art," - Al Belleveau
