Several citywide art organizations and galleries in downtown Syracuse have come together to create the Syracuse Art Trail, a walking path that ties together several galleries and businesses.
Timed with the Syracuse Arts and Festival to maximize exposure for local artists, the trail started July 19 and will conclude July 28.
At the trail’s kickoff event at Stay Fresh Design, located in the Delavan Studios, local artists designed special-to-Syracuse works of art. A textile-stitched outline of Onondaga County was centered on a map and hung high on a column. The stitched outline was created by Rachel Ivy Clarke, an associate professor at Syracuse University.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for people to come down and really enjoy the cultural offerings in arts and entertainment that downtown Syracuse has to offer,” said Stephen Butler, Executive Director at CNY Arts.
CNY Arts partnered with Stay Fresh Design to host the opening reception for the Syracuse Art Trail. The trail features five galleries and art businesses along its path, including the Gear Factory, Lipe Art Park, the Atrium, and Stay Fresh Design. The trail will lead to the Syracuse Arts and Crafts Festival, which starts Friday. Each location will have exhibitions and installations, live art demonstrations, artist talks, mural paintings, live music, and arts and crafts vendors.
The galleries involved all followed the collective theme of Syracuse inspirations. A call-out was placed on social media to city artists and the galleries encouraged artists to bring their unique perception of the theme.
“For this show, because I wanted to celebrate as many artists as I could in town, I just let everybody be in it; I didn’t turn anybody away,” said Tommy Lincoln, artist and Stay Fresh Design Founder. “The mix of art ranges in style and skill levels, it’s all really great.”
Throughout the space, artists interpreted their view of the city through photography, installation, paintings, and clay sculptures.
Some memorialized images of the Onondaga Lake Parkway Bridge, the Tipperary Hill upside-down traffic light, Syracuse residents, skateboards sprayed with the word “Syracuse,” a large quilt of a salt potato chip bag, and miniature hand-carved designs of famous monuments.
The kick-off event sought to attract more attention to Syrcause’s downtown art scene and draw more people to participate in the downtown Syracuse Art Trail.
Syracuse-themed photography and paintings hung on the walls, and handcrafted artwork sat on shelves of the Stay Fresh Design gallery showcasing citywide pride.
The Syracuse Art Trail highlights several other stops, including Clayscapes Pottery, The Kind Coffee Co., La Casita Cultural Center, Midoma/art haus SYR, Erie Canal Museum, Onondaga Historical Association, and others.
“It’s nice that we can have a solid shop [throughout] the city where you get to experience a lot of different galleries, different tastes and styles, street art and professional murals,” Lincoln said. “I think it’s pretty cool.”
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