Grand Avenue Festival highlights art galleries and shops of historic area

The transformation of Grand Avenue is something to see.

Art galleries, bakeries, restaurants, shops and cafes occupy spaces that once served as mid-century motels. The 8th annual Grand Avenue Festival allows participants to learn more about Grand Avenue’s history and growing art scene and become part of it.

 Spread out around Grand Avenue, visitors can explore the historic area, perusing local shops and galleries, interacting with local artists and contributing their own recycled artwork and fashions.

Festival director Beatrice Moore said the “non-traditional walking festival” creates a more immersive experience of the arts and encourages attendees to explore Grand Avenue.

“We get people out on the street, discovering the neighborhood because we find that people drive so fast down Grand a lot of times, and they don’t really know what’s there until they actually get out of their cars and walk up and down the street,” Moore said. “Then, they become aware of how many really cool vintage buildings and interesting shops and galleries are there.”  

All day long, galleries and studios on Grand Avenue will be open. Many of these spaces don’t operate during normal or regular business hours.

A handful of shops and galleries will host grand openings during the festival. As part of its grand opening, alternative fashion boutique Blackstar will have an interactive photo booth and DJ. Art gallery/tattoo shop/boutique Missconstrued Boutique and Gallery will feature live music.

Look for recycled art installations hanging from trees, light posts, planters, telephone poles and fences as part of the annual Hanging Gardens and Woven Fences installation.

Moore said that some artists, schools, boys and girls clubs and members of the public prepare their hanging projects before the festival while others create them onsite.

“When I started directing it, I was really interested in creating more opportunities for other artists to participate in outdoor, non-juried projects,” Moore said. “I like the idea of having opportunities for people to display their work that are very populist and inclusive.”  

For one of her projects, Moore has adorned with rhinestones hundreds of multicultural dolls collected from local thrift stores.

Art's driving force

One of the new additions to the festival, an art car exhibition at Unexpected Art Gallery will feature elaborately-decorated vehicles from around the state.

Harrod Blank, founder of the Art Car World museum in Douglas, has brought together a diverse collection of artistic vehicles, including his own Camera Van, a vehicle covered in over 2,700 cameras, and the Oh My God! car, his original art car project from high school.

Guests can also see repurposed military vehicles from Walter Studios; the Madonna Car by Chandler-based artist Jose Benavides; the Owl Car from Kat Pearson of Bisbee; the Nevada Car, David Best’s homage to the gaming industry; Tucson-based Diane Bombshelter’s J Gurl, an art car paying tribute to a deceased friend; a sculptural, clown-themed car called The Ploppet by brother and sister team Claire and Kyle Johnson of Scottsdale and Emily Duffy’s MondrianMobile, originally an artistic protest again male domination in the art world.

Many of the art cars incorporate recycled or repurposed materials.

“When you are broke, and you don’t have a lot of money, you have to work with what you’ve got and what you can get,” Blank said. “In that sense, it becomes more of an American phenomenon… Americans, they throw away a lot more stuff. There’s a lot more supplies we can work with, like rusty corrugated metal, license plates or Star Wars toys.”

Many art car projects stem from the artists’ personal journeys or hobbies.

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“Art car people are an extreme. They are extremely diverse, and they oftentimes have an obsession, a focus or a passion that is unique, and that gets represented on their cars,” Blank said. 

Unexpected will also have an exhibit of art car photographs, a premiere of Water Studios’ Mona Lisa art car, meet-and-greets with and artwork from the art car artists, a screening of Blank’s art car documentary "Automorphosis"and a book signing of Blank’s Art Cars.

Throughout the day, the gallery will have two stages with performances from local musicians, dance troupes and circus and sideshow performers.  

Starting at 3 p.m., artists and everyday people will show off looks made from repurposed and recycled products as part of an Untrashed Recycled Fashion Show at Unexpected. The runway show will be followed by a Trashy Hat Promenade over to ThirdSpace.

Unexpected’s festivities will conclude with a movie-themed fashion show by Hip Historian Marshall Shore.  

We love a parade

A non-motorized walking parade that starts and ends at Unexpected, the Phoenix Annual Parade of the Arts lets festival goers step in and take part in a superheroes themed procession down Grand Avenue. Parade participants are encouraged to dress up as their favorite or own versions of superheroes.

For the parade, festival goers often create non-motorized floats using skateboards, strollers, shopping carts or wagons; put together impromptu marching bands or ride with costumed bike groups.

The individuals or groups with the top adult costumes, floats, children or pet looks, decorative bicycles and group costumes will win prizes.

Sahar Mitchell, one of the parade organizers, said the parade encourages people of all ages to be involved and express themselves.

“We want for people to come down and be a part of it and share in celebrating the city, being with family and being creative,” Strange said. “It’s a way of taking over the streets, having some pride in Phoenix and your own sense of how you want to express that.”

Highlights

•  
• Trans Am Café: Enjoy live and electronic music curated by local DJ Sean Watson.
• Fushicho Daiko Dojo: Japanese taiko drumming through performances and interactive drumming activities.
• The Oasis on Grand: Food and craft vendors, live music and open artist studios throughout the day.
• Grand Qrthaus: Ofrendas, or altars, created by local artists in celebration of the Dia de Los Muertos.  
• Chartreuse and (9) The Gallery: Works by Phoenix oil painter Laura Spalding Best and Miami-based vandalism removal artist Jel Martinez, respectively.

In different locations on Grand Avenue, families can take part in craft activities such as making pine cone animals, coloring in pictures developed by local artists, creating a “trashy hat” from recycled materials, developing custom-made coasters with vintage equipment and making super hero masks or puppets.

For those interested in learning more about Grand Avenue’s past as a major thoroughfare from the 1920’s to the 1970’s, Tuft and Needle will display historic images.

Throughout the day, free pedicabs will run to different parts of Grand Avenue. Pedicab stations are located at the Oasis on Grand, Bragg’s Pie Factory building and Unexpected Gallery.

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Grand Avenue Festival

When: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12.

Where: Potential starting points at Unexpected Art Gallery, 734 W. Polk Street, Phoenix and Oasis on Grand, 1501 Grand Avenue.

Admission: Free.

Details:grandavenueartsandpreservation.org.