A Sudbury art event is being reimagined this summer due to the pandemic and an organizer says she hopes the changes will bring more people downtown.
The Downtown Sudbury Art Crawl is usually a one-day event with food, wine and art displays in local businesses. Between 600 and 700 people usually go downtown to take part.
But due to the pandemic, organizers have had to make a few changes. One change is that the event is taking place over the next four weeks instead of one day.
Artist and organizer of the event Monique Legault says the artwork is on display in store windows that are lit up at night.
“The idea is we’re trying to get people to come out downtown on their own time and take a look at the outdoor gallery,” she said.
Legault says they first started organizing the event, the goal was to get 40 businesses and 40 artists on board. In the end, they got 40 businesses and 56 artists involved.
“They’ve outdone themselves,” she said.
“They’re giving us the best pieces they have. A lot of the art shows that were happening this year didn’t get to happen. So we’re getting to show off some of the best things our city has to offer right now.”
During previous years, people have been able to purchase the art onsite. This year, Legault says a website has been created for that.
“You can actually bid on the art that you see displayed every week,” she said. “Ten pieces per week are going up for auction for four weeks running.”
Legault says she hopes the event will help both artists and business owners.
