Art Walk celebrates Bellingham community, culture

Bellingham is ranked as the second best art community in the United States based on the number of active art businesses per capita. Put on once a month by the Downtown Bellingham Partnership to showcase Bellingham’s art scene, the Art Walk is a way to celebrate and continue that aspect of the community.

The Seeing Bellingham Group is one of the notable participants that will be featured in this month’s Art Walk at Casa Que Pasa. The group is a collaboration of over 1,500 Bellingham residents that use Facebook as a platform to share photos and celebrate the town that they love. The group has selected over 50 pieces that will be on display and for sale at the restaurant, as well as donating 20 percent of all profits made to Lydia Place, a local housing non-profit.

Set on the first Friday of every month, the Art Walk is aimed at getting members of the community downtown to enjoy art and food, and promote a lively city center; an assortment of galleries, shops, museums, restaurants and studios will be participating in this month’s event as well as the new Western City Center in the historic Herald Building located on the corner of Chestnut and State streets.

The Western City Center was created as a way to get Western off the hill and more integrated into the city of Bellingham. Having a location downtown has allowed Western to expand their reach and participate in events like the Art Walk, as well as being able to promote student involvement within the community.

“There’s a community of people that are so passionate about being in and improving downtown Bellingham that you don’t realize,” said Kate Romanaggi, a senior at Western and the community outreach coordinator for the WWU Alumni Association. “We like to participate in different community activities to get our name known down there and to let people know ‘Hey we want to be a part of this downtown community, we’re not isolated just to campus.’”

The Western City Center participates in the Art Walk every other month and tries to focus on featuring artwork by Western students and alumni; the December event drew nearly 500 people into the city center. This month’s featured artists are Maddy Berkman, Katya Myers, Caroline Garz, and Abby Kuchar all with different styles ranging from mixed media photography to 3D art displays.

The Downtown Bellingham Art Walk is from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5. The Western City Center will be open from 6 to 8 p.m. and will be providing beverages and appetizers. Visitors can also shop for a variety of Western gear and learn about other events hosted by the WWU Alumni Association.