Bringing art to the street: Downtown Live

Artist Christopher Bachers lets paint drip from his canvas during the first Downtown Live event this year (Gazette file photo)
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Artist Christopher Bachers lets paint drip from his canvas during the first Downtown Live event this year (Gazette file photo) .

TEXARKANA - A new tradition of live art downtown continues in a week with Downtown Live along Broad Street and at 1894 Gallery.

To be held 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13, Downtown Live brings several familiar faces to the streets and gallery spaces: Christopher Bachers, Jenny Stevens, Tom Morrissey, Mary Beck, David Peavy, Richard Cramer, Judy Jones, Chris Thomas, seamstress Irma Zuniga and Joseph Raymond, who assists in organizing the event.

All sorts of artists create paintings, pottery, drawings and more along both the Arkansas and Texas sides of Broad Street, right on the sidewalks or inside galleries like Joseph Raymond Fine Art.

Along with those artists who've appeared at Downtown Live before, new artists are expected, said Main Street Texarkana Executive Director Ina McDowell. Main Street Texarkana is presenting the event.

Artists interested in joining Downtown Live can contact her or Raymond or simply show up to participate and add to the variety. MST is also looking for musical talent to add to the mix.

"One thing that's been so neat about all of this is just the emerging of artists that we weren't aware of, that we are learning about that are right in our community," McDowell said. "There's just so much talent, and I'm excited that we can focus on the talent that we have."

As Main Street Texarkana, they want to focus on assets, including historic assets in the downtown commercial district, McDowell said. They're cultural assets, she said.

"But we have this wonderful talent that is right here in our community, and it's just really fun to be able to present that to our local people and for them to be aware of the wonderful local talents that we have," she said.

New this go-round will be painted Main Street Texarkana T-shirts promoting downtown, which Raymond and Cramer will create and then sell. Proceeds will support Main Street Texarkana.

"I've got some artists that are going to personalize those T-shirts by painting them and signing them. There will be a limited number of those," McDowell said.

McDowell said she's also working with the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council to get those artists involved, too.

Local muralist Darlene Taylor said she will also participate at this upcoming Downtown Live. She will work on a piece honoring children with cancer that will later hang on TRAHC's ArtWall. She said she aims to participate monthly in Downtown Live.

"It's truly evolving into something that we hope to be able to fill all of Broad Street with different artists every time," McDowell said. "The beauty of it is there will be new artists, we hope, each time. People will want to return. You're not going to see the same artists every single time."

The goal is to have artists making their art on the sidewalks (in Arkansas and Texas), but weather may factor into that. The first Downtown Live was plenty busy, for example, despite the rain.

"We want people to have the freedom to slowly walk on the sidewalks," McDowell said about the plan.

Said Taylor, "I love everyone coming out and having fun. Watching art being created."

(For more information, follow Main Street Texarkana on Facebook at Facebook.com/MainStreetTexarkana.)

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