R Street Corridor First Friday Art Walk

(Last UPDATED 5/26/2021) Description of the popular monthly R Street Corridor First Friday Art Walk.

The R Street Corridor First Friday Art Walk takes place the first Friday of the month along the R Street Corridor in Sacramento.

A friend and I recently spent  several enjoyable hours making the rounds and visiting some of the participating art galleries.

Participating Art Galleries

Art galleries and art spaces currently participating are:

• Beatnik Studios – 723 S Street
• ARTHOUSE on R – 1021R Street, 2^nd Floor
• Casa de Espanol – 1101 R Street
• WAL Public Market – 1104 R Street
• Warehouse Artist Lofts – 1108 R Street
• 1810 Gallery – 1810 12^th Street
• Raphael Delgado Art Studio – 1200 S Street

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An Enjoyable Evening

Among the galleries we visited was the Sparrow Gallery which recently (June 1) moved into the ARTHOUSE on R Building (1^st Floor).

We arrived at the start of the event.  We were glad we did as we had the chance to take our time viewing the art and chatting with the artists.  Later that evening it became more crowded.

My friend has artistic talent, and she was very interested to see and learn more about some of the techniques utilized to create the various works of art.  As someone who has taken classes she also has an appreciation as to level of difficulty involved in creating some of the paintings we viewed.

We saw quite a few intriguing works of art. One of the works I enjoyed was the painting of a bubbling brook amid trees and rocks.  What made it stand out?  When you looked closely you saw a sprinkling of music scores embedded in the painting. Many of us, I am sure, have appreciated the music created by a creek or stream as it tumbles over rocks in a natural setting.  I certainly have.

I also enjoyed the opportunity to chat briefly with a fabric collage artist whose work I had seen and admired previously in the downtown Sacramento CalEPA building.  The artist, Merle Axelrad, mentioned that the CalEPA commission had been her first public art commission.

Towards the end of our evening we had worked up a thirst so we decided to stop at the Shady Lady Saloon for a drink before heading home.  The place was packed. However, we were able to secure a table on the outside patio.  I headed to the bar to secure our drinks as outside table service is only provided if food is ordered. Luckily I was served in short order – likely because I was not ordering any complicated mixed drinks.

The R Street Corridor is now also home to a number of restaurants including the Iron Horse Tavern and Amaro.

See related blog posts: Iron Horse Tavern – Sacramento Restaurants  and Iron Horse Tavern Revisited and Amaro – Sacramento Restaurants and Mas Taco Bar

To sum up, dinner at one of the nearby restaurants before or after the R Street Corridor First Friday Art Walk would make a fun and entertaining night out.  Next time.

Updates

(5/26/21)  Broken link removed.

(1/23/18)  Upon completion, The Sentinel by Merle Axelrad (see above) found a permanent home at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in San Francisco.  Congrats to Merle!

Comments on the R Street Corridor First Friday Art Walk?

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