![]() ![]() That was 2000, when the newly formed Around the Corner Artist Group organized its first art walk. “We need to invite the public so we could actually sell work to pay for either the rent or, in our case, the insurance, taxes and utilities, and materials to make the art,” she said. Eaton Studio Gallery was among the first to invite the public to come in. Harold Gregor, Ken Holder, Harold Boyd and Ron Jackson all had private studios in the area. “I remember the downtown art scene as being pretty much private studios, and most of them were university faculty,” she said. Both were transfer students to Illinois State University but quickly immersed themselves downtown. Pamala and Herb Eaton arrived in 1971 from Peoria. The downtown art scene was not always so vibrant. There was a time I was the young mom bringing my sons when they were growing up.” Open to the publicĮaton Studio Gallery The exterior of Eaton Studio Gallery, located at 411 N. Many galleries are also open on the weekends, supplementing a trip to the farmers market or Second Saturday Sidewalk Sales. On the first Friday of each month, galleries, businesses and restaurants stay open late, often organizing sales and activities around a seasonal theme. More than 120 artists currently show work in downtown Bloomington, spread out in more than a dozen galleries and studios. It was a really special moment.”īaird first showed her work downtown in 2010 as part of the first “What’s so good about First Friday?” shows organized by Angel Ambrose.Īmbrose owns an independent studio in the Monroe Building at the corner of Main and Monroe streets, where Baird now operates her own studio called Art Vortex. “I brought my son, who was 5 years old,” Baird said. ![]() The first place she went was Herb Eaton Studio Gallery at 411 N. “I still had a flip phone.”īaird looked up directions online, printed them out and headed to downtown Bloomington to check out its art galleries. “I had to learn how to come downtown,” she said. She moved here in 1995 and was looking for a way to connect. Connecting with artistsĬollage artist Janean Baird is a transplant to Bloomington-Normal. Revered as one of the nation’s top art fairs, Sugar Creek is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to visual arts in Bloomington-Normal.Īs part of our ongoing Welcome Home series geared toward the Twin Cities’ newest residents, WGLT visited the Uptown and Downtown arts scenes - plus options beyond and in between the city and the town. One hundred artists will set up shop in Uptown Normal this weekend for the 40th annual Sugar Creek Arts Festival. ![]()
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