Art Hop Showcases Local Talent and Pumps the Queen City’s Economy
by Gail Callahan
For the last 22 Septembers, Art Hop has brought together a wide range of artists, while drawing scores of visitors to Burlington’s South End. The upcoming Hop will feature 500 artists stretched over more than 100 sites, according to Adam Brooks, executive director of SEABA.

The South End Arts and Business Association, or SEABA, organizes the Hop, and is on the cusp of staging the annual 23rd show. Running September 11 through 13, ground zero for the Hop is the Queen City’s South End Art District. In fact, Burlington’s South End businesses along the Pine Street corridor are reinvented and take on the appearance of art galleries.

“We work on the Art Hop really year-round,” said Brooks, from his Pine Street office. “There’s a lot of planning, research, and marketing, and it takes eight to nine months to really make it happen.”

Fall Foliage by artist Julie A. Davis. Photos: courtesy of the artist

Artist, Julie A. Davis

More of Davis’s work can be seen at the Julie A. Davis Fine Art Studio at 4 Howard Street, 3rd floor, Burlington.

 

Throughout the more than two decades that Art Hop has run, the event has grown, gaining a reputation as Vermont’s “largest and best arts festival,” celebrating the Queen City’s art and unique culture. There’s also the economic boom the Hop brings to Burlington. With upward of 30,000 visitors flooding the area for the event, estimates are that over $1 million is added to local coffers.

“Art Hop really drives Burlington’s economy way, way up,” Brooks said.

Key to the Hop’s popularity is its egalitarian nature combined with its strong push to showcase Vermont artists’ work. “I’d say 99.9 percent of the artists showing in the Hop are from Vermont,” said Brooks, noting that this is his fourth Hop.
Happenings at the Hop

However, the Hop has grown into something much more than a three-day event during which patrons stroll through galleries. In addition to paintings and sculptures, the Hop will host Kids Hop, the STRUT! Fashion Show, a number of musical events, and a casino night—among many other events.

There will be a variety of workshops, some running all three days of the Hop. You can learn to build a stand-up paddleboard at Tao Woodworking or taking drumming lessons at Burlington Taiko, both on Flynn Avenue, make a glass sun-catcher at South End Glass on Howard Street, attend a screen printing workshop at Iskar Print Collective on Maple Street, or learn the basics of aikido at Aikido of Champlain Valley on Pine Street.

Another ongoing event is the annual Art Hop reception and exhibit, on Sears Lane. The exhibit, called Excerpts from the West Side, features sculpture and installation art created by artists living and working in West Rutland. The annual Juried Art Show at the SEABA Art Gallery on Pine Street is also open all three days.

A number of musical and celebratory events will be happening the first evening of the Hop. Starting at 5:30, you can party down at the Good & Twenty Tent Party at the Maltex Building on Pine Street. From 7:30–8:30, Sambatucada, an Afro-Brazilian percussion band, is performing at Eight Space Artists’ Collective. The celebratory mood will also be marked with an ArtsRiot birthday party on Friday, running from 4:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Pine Street, and a Punk Block Party on King Street.

On Saturday, the fun continues with an array of events, ranging from musical performances to cooking demonstrations. The Artist Market Extravaganza, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. in the Maltex building, will have local, handcrafted items for sale. The well-attended Kids Hop!, which runs from 10 a.m.–2 p.m., also in the Maltex building, is a free event, sponsored by Healthy Living and KidsVT. Designed for children ages 3 to 12, it features recycled art projects, face painting, aikido demonstrations, and much more. Also on Saturday is STRUT!, a fashion show presenting the work of local clothing designers.

Saturday evening, ArtsRiot, an event management company among other things, will be hosting the Roaring Twenties 25th Anniversary Gala for Vermont People with AIDS Coalition, featuring a casino night and dance party. Folks are invited to come dressed in Roaring Twenties garb.

This is just a smattering of the many events that will happen during Art Hop. For a complete schedule along with an Art Hop map and a list of all the exhibiting artists, visit SEABA’s website.
South End Art District

SEABA got jump-started in 1986 and represents an array of Burlington South End artists. The “heart and soul” of SEABA’s mission is to promote the Pine Street corridor and its growing number of businesses and artists. Its motto, “Where art works,” underscores the successful merger of artists creating alongside a number of Burlington businesses.

It’s no coincidence that SEABA’s main offices are on Pine Street, a place quickly gaining a reputation for its artists’ studios and trendy places to eat and shop. There are also a handful of longtime and venerable businesses, such as Vermont Church Supply and Burlington Primary Care, a medical practice, that have called the area home for decades. Not to mention Lake Champlain Chocolates, Champlain Elementary School, and the Howard Center as community anchors.

photo: Steve Mease

Marking the advent of the South End’s ongoing transformation to a business-cultural hub was the implementation of signs declaring the “South End Art District.” SEABA is also compiling an online art and business directory. Applications are available on SEABA’s website.

SEABA Exhibitions, an arm of the parent company, SEABA, was created to manage artists and is the driving force behind the Hop.

What You Crave #2 by Ashlee Rubinstein. More of her paintings can be seen at the 696 Hallways Building at 969 Pine Street or visit her website at www.ashleerubinstein.com.
Photo: courtesy of the artist.

Women Well Represented

Because of the Hop’s reputation for promoting a level playing field for artists, the Hop cultivates fertile soil for women artists. Citing recent figures, Brooks said about 60 percent of the artists with work on display at this year’s Hop are women.

Ashlee Rubinstein is a Burlington artist and a newcomer to the Hop. She is exhibiting pictures of a subject that fascinates her—food. Rubinstein noted that she, like many women, has a complicated relationship with food. “I’m interested in portraying food that’s bad for me and that’s good for me,” she said.

At the other end of the spectrum is Burlington artist Julie A. Davis. Describing herself as one of the first Art Hop organizers, Davis has worked as an artist in Burlington for about three decades. Her Howard Street studio literally opens its doors onto the “footprint” of the Hop. Davis, who grew up in central Vermont, plans on exhibiting again during this year’s Hop, including work from a recent solo show of 22 oil paintings at Fisk Farm in Isle La Motte.

Known for her love of the Vermont landscape, Davis said the Hop “connects visitors with an array of art . . . People are definitely aware of Art Hop.”

Success Story

Brooks acknowledges that the time of the year when the Hop occurs is partially behind its popularity. “It’s always the weekend after Labor Day,” Brooks said. “The students are back in town, and the kids have gone back to school.”

“We like to keep a little bit of surprise to keep it new,” said Brooks. “A lot of families attend as well as a lot of seniors, who want to see the art.” Promotion of the event took the traditional route of a 74-page program guide, along with posters placed around the greater Burlington area. The event is also advertised on several social media sites, such as Facebook.

Brooks also acknowledged that much of the Hop’s success stems from its volunteer base. Noting, it takes “hundreds” of volunteers to “make the Hop a success,” Brooks is eager for the public to consider contacting SEABA offices, offering some of their time to help set up or promote the event in some manner.

Asked why the Hop’s popularity has grown with time, Brooks said the artistic work is the draw. “People are hopping all over the place,” he said. “Art Hop has something for everyone.”

A member of the Noodle Family Traveling Circus, an 18-foot inflatable sculpture by Abby Manock. Photo: Steve Mease

SEABA’s Executive Director on PlanBTV

by Adam Brooks
Editor’s note: The City of Burlington’s draft plan for the South End (planBTV South End)—proposing ways to develop this rapidly growing area of the city—has been a source of some controversy lately. Some resident artists, who are key to the area’s vibrancy and attraction, are concerned that the area will become gentrified and unaffordable, with longtime residents displaced from their studios. Central to the controversy is how much housing development should be allowed in the area, which has traditionally limited or prohibited residential use. Vermont Woman invited SEABA’s executive director, Adam Brooks, to weigh in on the association’s take on the situation.

PlanBTV South End is an opportunity for the City of Burlington to take a look at improving the South End, trying to achieve its potential while looking at other things such as storm water and multimodal infrastructure. SEABA has been in the South End for 29 years, helping it to grow organically, advocating for our unique and diverse community.

Topics from the planBTV South End draft plan are designed to take a closer look at economic development, housing, transportation, arts and affordability, and more. Each of our artists, businesses, or residents will come across at least one item in the draft plan that will affect them from a business or livability perspective. The draft plan is not perfect by any means, but it does address some of the urgent needs of the South End, such as enhancing its economic impact, brownfields, and multimodal transportation. Other aspects would enhance the creative and artistic opportunity in the South End but at the expense of adding residential and commercial development.

We know there needs to be a balance going forward with the plan so as not to lose the budding entrepreneur, creative vibe and gentrify an area that is a unique cultural asset for the city. SEABA has worked diligently to inform and engage the community throughout this process and assist the city in its understanding of our South End community. There's no doubt that everyone here wants to see a better South End; coming together to provide the solution is harder than it looks. There is still time to massage the plan, speak with consultants, and have your voice heard by the October first deadline.

Adam Brooks is executive director of South End Arts and Business Association in Burlington, Vermont.
   

 

Gail Callahan is a freelance journalist based in Burlington.