Nineteen sixty-seven had the “Summer of Love.” Two thousand eighteen will have the “Summer of Love…of the Arts.” Cornwall Public Library director Mary Lou Carolan is leading an effort to pair artists with local businesses to increase exposure for both.
To kick off this event, on July 14 and 28 and Aug. 4 and 11, Judi Silvano will showcase some of her art at World Wide Travel, and demonstrate her skill with colors and brushes.
Carolan, a member of the Chamber of Commerce who also serves on the art committee, was originally charged with organizing an art festival, but suggested trying something different.
“What we’re doing is connecting businesses with artists and forming partnerships where they will work together to cross promote each other,” Carolan said. “Basically the goal was to do something different than a festival which is a one-shot deal and have this relationship be at least three live art sessions at the place of business. The goal would be to have the artists get exposure for their art and the businesses get some foot traffic for people coming to see the artwork.”
To set the wheels in motion, Carolan passed around a sign-up sheet for business owners interested in participating. She then put a call out to local art organizations, as well as artists who have displayed work in the library’s community room. The result is six confirmed pairings. There was a seventh, but the artist had to back out, so Carolan is seeking a replacement.
From there, Carolan looked at each artist’s work and determined in what setting they would best fit. For example, Silvano, an artist and a singer, has traveled the world, so it seemed fitting to connect her with the travel agency. Jennifer Charton creates colorful metaphysical paintings which would play well in a place like Brid’s Closet.
Once the pairing is made, it’s up to the artist and the business owner to establish dates and times for the demonstration and display.
The pairs need to agree on at least three dates during July and August with a mix of weekends and weekdays to avoid overlapping.
Carolan is encouraging the artists to be available on Aug. 4 because Cornwall is in the path of the Hudson Valley Creatives Marathon (marathon.creativesmx.com) and it would add exposure to the artist’s work and the business.
About 20 business owners expressed interest in participating, but the inaugural event is being kept small purposely.
“I didn’t go to everyone this go around because some are off the main street,” Carolan said. “I wanted to make sure this concept worked first before we did something which involved a map.”
For additional dates and times, see the calendar on the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce’s web site, cornwallchamber.org.
Business and artist pairings
Brid’s Closet – Jennifer Charton
Cornwall Sweets – Ricky Ramirez
Cornwall Wines – Maureen Hart
Creative Gifts and More – Wendy Forte
Studio 208 – Sal Russo
Worldwide Travel – Judi Silvano