The remaining Gallery Nights this summer are July 30, August 27, & September 24. | Drew Saunders
On my visit to the May Gallery Night, I started off at the Gutman Gallery, where artist Kris Cravens was demonstrating exactly how she makes her colorful collaged ceramics while guests watched. Like many of the artists I saw doing demos that night, her chatty, step-by-step style made her seem approachable, and she was full of tips on how to start making art.
Gallery Nights opens the doors of seven galleries, plus coffee shops and artist-friendly boutiques throughout Kerrytown on the final Thursday evening of every summer month from 5–8 p.m. Every participating business has a set of balloons floating in front of their door to invite you in. This choose-your-own-adventure of engaging activities is designed to break down the barriers between professional artists and the public with a smorgasbord of eclectic, diverse art-making and art-viewing—all for free.
On the night I went, I saw dozens of people going in and out of the galleries and shops in twos and threes. Strangers chatted with each other and with gallery owners as they looked at the art, which ranged from elaborate glass sculptures to semiabstract Midwestern landscapes in oil. I enjoyed seeing the creativity and mastery of local artists on display, but the low-key event is as much a chance to meet new people or go on a low-pressure date as it is a chance to connect with contemporary art.
As I watched glass artist and gallery owner Chris Nordin get absorbed in his conversations with other artists, I was excited to realize that I, too, was getting sucked into thinking about the surrounding metal, glass, and wood sculptures in a new, more elevated way than I’m used to. Any sense of claustrophobia in Nordin’s decidedly narrow gallery melted away as I became immersed in the art and surrounding conversations.
Related: Chris Nordin Adds a Gallery: Expanding “a mini arts district”
You can take your time going from gallery to shop, take a dinner break whenever you want at one of Ann Arbor’s many nearby restaurants, and then swing right back into looking at art. In fact, that’s exactly what I did.
The event attracts artistic activity of all kinds. On the July 30 Gallery Night, the Sculpture Plaza at the corner of Fourth Ave. and Catherine will host chamber music performances by Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra musicians, the Gutman Gallery will have a hands-on collage party led by artist Nicole McKay, and a portrait artist will give demonstrations at the tea shop TeaHaus.
The remaining Gallery Nights this summer are on July 30, August 27 and September 24. You can enter a raffle to win prizes of items from the businesses if you visit every participating location. The summer sun will be at various stages of setting as art lovers and the curious wander around Kerrytown’s participating locations to check out things like an artist interview at the Nordin Gallery, see the abstract prints, figurative bronze sculptures, and landscapes on display at the WSG Gallery’s Summer Invitational exhibit, or to check out the new exhibit focused on hands at work, In the Shadow of the Hand, at the Cluster Museum. It’s a pleasant—and free—summer evening.