GRAND RAPIDS — The First Friday Art Walk is a monthly celebration of art and community that takes place in downtown Grand Rapids.
Katie Marshall, executive director of MacRostie Art Center, joined the Friday, May 5, KAXE Morning Show with Heidi Holtan and John Bauer for her regular First Friday appearance to provide a rundown of events.
First Friday events
- Benders: Hosting Benders’ very own Beth Beddoe of Ad-tiques. Beth uses upcycled materials to create jewelry and decor.
- Giinawind Creative Space: Opening of “Waiting for Beds,” a new exhibit by Moira Villiard and Carla Hamilton.
- Stained glass with class: Showcasing the creations of Ally from Gypsy Creek Boutique with wooden and acrylic goods ranging from travel maps, wooden board games such as cribbage boards, one-of-a-kind earrings and more.
Old Central School
Story Art + Museum: Hosting Itasca Orchestra & Strings Program and Third Coast Chamber Collective 4-6 p.m. for a preview of their Summer Strings Camp activities. Artists in the Attic: Visit the artists in residence on the third floor. Multi-medium artist Eleanor Tillmans will be presenting a short artist talk “A Study of Earth, Water, and Life” at 7 p.m. Borealis Creamery is scooping hand crafted small batch ice cream in the Old Central School parking lot.
- Northern Cruisers and Itasca Vintage Car Club: The Car Clubs are coming together to host a First Friday Show-n-Shine in the Kremer’s parking lot. This event is open to all collector cars of any model year, and Bobcats Lunchbox food truck will be on site.
- Rapids Brewing Co.: Katy with Up North Sewing & Embroidery will show and sell her creations in the taproom, Lonesome Dan Kase performs live from 6-9 p.m., and there will be Cinco De Mayo food and drink specials.
- Local VFW Post No. 1720: Sam Miltich and the Original Clearwater Hot Club, performing 7-10 p.m.
More can be found at GrandRapidsArts.org.
Little Big Show
Now in its fifteenth year, the MAC’s popular “Little Big Show” includes more than 80 artists with works that are 10 inches or smaller and priced at $100 or less. Any artist may submit a single piece, which results in a vibrant showcase of local and regional talent that makes this exhibition an annual favorite for artists and visitors alike.
There's some people that have mailed things in. There's folks who ... just come across the call for art, so folks that have never shown here before, plus a lot of local people,” Marshall said. “So I expect we'll have a big turnout tonight for that.”
Alyssa Swanson of Cloquet is this year’s featured artist and will show miniature embroideries from her collection “Ruminate,” which explores emotions and experiences that lie below the surface.
“With the repetition of a single stitch and a collection of various fabrics, I experiment with texture, weight, and line,” Swanson said. “Through the conceptual push and pull, I confront that which lies below the surface: emotions and darkness from the past and within. The resulting objects and images are apparitions of my own experience.”
Swanson earned her master’s of fine arts in 2-D studies from Bowling Green State University in 2019 and she earned a bachelor’s degree in art, specializing in painting and drawing, from the College of St. Scholastica.
Waiting for Beds
Moira Villiard of Duluth and Carla Hamilton of Pittsburgh created this immersive installation to examine the experience of waiting for a bed and the inaccessibility of social services and mental health care for people in crisis.
The artists drew upon regional research, personal experience and community input to create a body of artwork exploring what happens to people in crisis during their "wait" for a bed.
“This exhibit seeks to challenge the normalcy of the phrase in social services and healthcare and uplift the voices of those impacted by the ‘wait,’” a news release stated. “The exhibit will navigate themes and data connected to mental health, addiction, hospitalization, incarceration, homelessness, domestic violence, and other areas of crisis in which ‘waiting for a bed’ is common.”
Marshall noted the exhibit also features community-submitted pieces related to the theme.
“The contributed pieces — a lot of times, it’s things people created while they were either in treatment or waiting for a bed, or some folks who’ve been incarcerated, some of the artwork they created during that time,” Marshall said.
The exhibit is presented in partnership with the Grand Rapids chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in recognition of May as Mental Health Awareness Month.
