1st Fridays Art Walk

In early 2002, Fairfield artist Stacey Hurlin, founder of the non-profit ArtLife Society, shared a personal dream with me over lunch. “I want to create an interactive arts event in Fairfield,” she said, “something that brings the whole community together.”

Hurlin’s vision was to celebrate both life and art, which she sees as inextricably linked. Her Web site notes, “. . . life lived in its purest form appears . . . as artwork in progress. Joy and celebration of self-expression result; a sense of community results; well-being results . . .”

Not one to abandon a dream, Hurlin plunged in and organized what she assumed would be a one-time community arts celebration, set for the following August, featuring shows at Fairfield’s numerous art galleries. The event drew hundreds of people, creating a buzz throughout the city.

By October 2002, Hurlin and a gaggle of volunteers launched 1st Fridays Art Walk as an ongoing monthly event, featuring visual and performing arts, food vendors and a variety of special events. Soon, word spread beyond Fairfield that something special was happening around the community’s central square the first Friday of each month.

Art Walk Today

Now, on Art Walk night, people from Iowa and neighboring states stream into town. In warmer months, participant numbers have ballooned to 4,500, sometimes higher. People come to see art, attend performances and workshops, eat out at one of Fairfield’s many international restaurants, shop, socialize and celebrate.

Today, Fairfield’s 11 galleries and 31 combined venues—stores, restaurants, etc., that reserve space for art shows—participate in Art Walk. Each month’s event has a theme. This year’s themes include Oktoberfest, All Things Italian, American Crafts and Fine Art, Art in Motion (dance), Juried Fine Art Walk, Film Festival, Winter Wonderland, All Things Local and Bark in the Park. The latter, featuring animal-themed art, a pet parade, pet-related vendors and consultations with a pet psychic, proved so popular this past August that it’s on the calendar again for next summer.

In fact, the monthly events have multiplied to the point that they now spill over into the entire weekend. Many visitors to the area now plan their trips around Art Walk. As Fairfield becomes a tourism destination, the city’s economy enjoys a boost.

Awards

In 2005, the Iowa Tourism Office and the Travel Federation of America recognized Fairfield’s Art Walk as the Iowa Tourism Event of the Year. The same organization gave the event its 2008 Tourism and the Arts award.

In receiving the latest award, Rustin Lippincott, executive director of Fairfield Iowa Convention and Visitors Bureau, said, “. . . The Art Walk, a monthly celebration of all types of art, is an economic driver to our community and region. This award is a tribute to the City of Fairfield and its residents’ commitment to enhancing the quality of life and to welcoming visitors to our community through the arts.”

Changing of the Guard

After sponsoring Art Walk for almost two years, Stacey Hurlin passed along responsibility for the event to a board of directors so she could focus on related arts projects—producing an annual Small Works show and her Color Fairfield Mural Project, a series of public art works.

Led by a board of community leaders, currently headed by Janet Joyce, paid staff member JoBeth Lewer and 60 volunteers, Art Walk continues to flourish and expand, partnering with local businesses to sponsor each month’s theme.

Now, when I head to the square on the first Friday evening of the month, it's almost impossible to find a parking space. The north end of the square is blocked off for entertainment and dancing, vendors surround the bandstand where Barack Obama spoke in July 2007, and children turn somersaults on the grass near the statue of William Henry Coop, Jefferson County’s first pioneer settler.

Art Walk’s celebration of life and art brings us together, lifting spirits in Fairfield and beyond.