By Miles Hilton
If you’re looking for a great way to spend Memorial Day Weekend, look no further than the Chautauqua County Art Trail, Saturday and Sunday May 27-28, 2023. Formally known as the “Chautauqua-Lake Erie Art Trail Hub Crawl”, the event, organized by the North Shore Arts Alliance, offers a network of artist’s studios, galleries, and art hubs across the county where visitors can meet artists, learn about their work, and “bring home one-of-a-kind art.”
Now in its fifteenth year, the Art Trail began as a studio tour organized by artists who wanted to share the work of marketing and publicizing an event. It’s since grown to include galleries, as well as art hubs for artists without public studio space.
This year, twenty-eight artists will be sharing their work at fifteen locations across the county – from Pearl City Clay House in Jamestown to Living Glass Gallery in Westfield. Other hubs will be in Fredonia, Sherman, and Kennedy, as well as at locations all around Lake Chautauqua. Every location but the Janet Mandel Art Studio in Kennedy is physically accessible. This is “more artists than we’ve ever had, and more hubs,” says Marcia Merrins, President of the North Shore Arts Alliance.
“People on the art trail are looking for something that speaks to them,” she continues, and there is something on the trail for every taste. Those looking for realistic pieces may seek out wildlife artist Janet Mandel, Melissa Meyer’s paintings of local scenes, or Tim Siversten’s monochromatic drawings. For a more impressionistic aesthetic, look for Thomas Annear’s plein-air landscape paintings, the translucent work of Living Glass Gallery, or Susan Gutierrez’s energetic animal portraits and city scenes. Pottery lovers have a wealth of options – Merrin’s clay statues and playful bowls, pots and vases at Wayfaring Potter in Fredonia, or Kirsten Engstrom’s joy-filled statues of people. For an eclectic, modern style, seek out Sarah Brown-Millspaw’s prints, illustrations, and paintings, Seri Beeson’s craft and art, the hand-painted clothing of Cynthia Norton Designs, or the abstract sculpture of LMNOP Gallery. Visitors will be issued a ‘passport’, which they can have stamped at each hub they visit for a chance to win gift cards valid with any artist on the trail. A full list of participating hubs and artists can be found at nsaachautauqua.org/art-trail.html.
“Art trail is run by all the artists” who participate, says local artist and NSAA board member Melissa Meyers. Artists are responsible for securing funding and spreading the word about the trail. This year’s marketing is “reaching more outside the area,” she shares, “targeting Cleveland, Erie, and Pittsburgh.”
Because of these far-reaching marketing efforts, this year’s organizers secured a county Tourism Grant, intended to support events that draw overnight visitors to the county, as well as grants from Art Services Incorporated, New York State’s decentralization program, and the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation. Local sponsors, including several of the participating galleries and local businesses, contributed as well.
Through the growing event, artists hope to not only share the creative wealth of the county with residents, but to spread the area’s reputation as an artistic center. Merrins believes the trail “benefits the artists, there’s no doubt about it, but it benefits the community, too.” She hopes that “people outside of this county recognize that there’s something unique going on here, and they come” to experience it, supporting not only the artists from whom they buy their work, but other local businesses as well. It’s a vision that Audrey Dowling, founding member of both the Art Trail and NSAA, shares. “For years I have watched other regions become labeled as art communities”, she says, “and it’s a great economic driver.” Dowling sees the art trail as “growing”, and encourages the community to “really jump on it and support the arts”. “Every year more and more people attend”, Meyers adds, “there’s so much art in this area”.
If you don’t get to every artist on your list this weekend, don’t worry! The trail returns Labor Day weekend.