Williamsburg Aims to Attract Art Fans in Fall

By Amber Lester Kennedy Saturday, August 06, 2011

Tourists flock to Williamsburg in the summer to visit Colonial Williamsburg and ride roller coasters at Busch Gardens. In the winter, they come for Christmas-themed spectacles at both attractions. But few visitors consider Williamsburg a place to go in the fall, and tourism leaders are setting out to change that.

The Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance and the Historic Triangle’s economic development authorities have deemed September “Arts Month.” For the entire month, businesses and galleries will present artistic events, culminating in the Occasion for the Arts on the first weekend of October.

Williamsburg Economic Development Director Michele DeWitt said it’s an effort to get more visitors to plan arts-themed vacations to the Historic Triangle. Terry Buntrock, who helped coordinate an arts map for Williamsburg in 2006, has been recruiting businesses to host artistic events. She is also compiling a calendar that serves as a one-stop shop for arts event information. The calendar, which is found here, already has 78 events lined up in September to get visitors and residents into an artistic spirit.

The Economic Development Authority will host its Gallery Crawl on Sept. 29. For a $40 ticket, guests can board chartered buses to visit galleries around town, sip wine and sample cheese. The shuttles will also make stops at three bed and breakfasts, where artists and gallery owners will share their works. The full list of locations is here.

Business owners have come up with creative events that will both celebrate art and draw customers to their storefronts. For example, Nautical Dog in New Town has scheduled four Saturdays of pet-themed art events; on Sept. 3, a row of artists will set up outside the store to draw or paint pet portraits. On Sept. 17, the pets can create their own “pawtraits,” Buntrock said.

This Century Art Gallery will have its Art on the QT fundraiser on Sept. 25. Artists anonymously donate original, unframed art, all sized 5 X 7, and all priced at $100. Only after a work is purchased can the buyer find out the identity of the creator. “Last year, I bought five of the paintings, and you can ship them easily and inexpensively, so it was quick Christmas shopping for me,” Buntrock said.

At A Touch of Earth on Richmond Road, artisans will demonstrate their crafts each Saturday; one week a woodturner will make bowls with his lathe and another week, a fiber artist will weave with her loom. Art fans can even learn about the conservation of art during a behind-the-scenes tour of Colonial Williamsburg’s Bruton Heights conservation and education center.

The arts month will end with the two-day An Occasion for the Arts event on Oct. 1 and 2. This will be the first time in its 42-year history that AOFTA has been a full weekend, in hopes of attracting new artists and new audiences.

The new two-day format will open the festival up to more artists who typically participate in multi-day art shows, and is expected to bring art of higher quality and variety. The show will be judged by Nicole McCormick Santiago, an assistant professor of art at the College of William and Mary, where she teaches drawing and color theory.

On Monday, the AOFTA planners will officially unveil a new logo for the event, developed with Howell Creative Group. The logo will be used in the September Arts Month promotional materials, AOFTA website and its program. But before the old logo is retired, the AOFTA family will toast Carlton Abbott, the designer of the original logo, which was used for 43 years. He will be celebrated at a logo unveiling at 5 p.m. Monday in the Port Anne Club House.

For more information about AOFTA and arts month, click here.