Kingston’s art enthusiasts made the most of Art After Dark’s late-night event that saw over 30 downtown locations celebrating local art after-hours.
On Sept. 25 at 7:00 p.m., Downtown Kingston transformed Princess Street into a bustling gallery as hundreds of patrons listened to live music, watched live painting, and attended artisan markets.
Art After Dark carried on Kingston’s Forever Hip summer celebrations with participating locations distributing codes named after songs by The Tragically Hip for a chance to win an original artwork.
While following vinyl “Art After Dark Here” sidewalk signs, patrons were taken on a free guided walking tour to check out the city’s art hubs.
Art Noise, an art supply store, set up a free, tasty charcuterie board with veggies, cheese, and crackers. Attendees snacked as they toured the store’s Tragically Hip themed exhibit, No Dress Rehearsal, filling the space with vivid pieces dedicated to the band’s legacy.
Among the displayed pieces was Sergio Jaua’s mixed media collage, Gord Downie: Secret Path. Jaua is one of the artists involved in Play me Kingston, a Forever Hip initiative that installed guitar structures around the downtown core.
Beyond the exhibit’s Hip theme, Art Noise hosted artist Tori Smyth, who did a live demonstration of her floral painting by the store’s entrance.
Across the street, Agent 99 hosted a live local guitarist Nolan Hubbard, while selling David Bastedo’s photography prints, taken when Bastedo worked with The Tragically Hip from 2004 until the Man Machine Poem Tour’s final show in 2016.
Down on Brock Street, General Brock’s Commissary hosted a live painter painting Gord Downie while distributing free Mixtape soda samples.
Although some stores strayed from Forever Hip, all participating locations remained rooted in its core message by celebrating Kingston’s local arts scene.
Antique Emporium put Sumera Khan’s contemporary art on display. These colourful oil paintings depict impressions of her everyday life.
Martello Alley hosted Euro Café Duo, a Kingston-based jazz duo that brought the sounds of Paris to the streets of Kingston as patrons toured the gallery.
Although Art After Dark is promoted as a free walking tour that lets anyone walk into stores free of charge, most of their advertised activities came with a price.
For instance, Wild Bobbin sold a $15 half-hour embroidery workshop, and Montreal Street Collective offered henna starting at $5. While the stores themselves were clear in their marketing that these activities came with an added price to financially support local artists, Art After Dark’s official website left out the prices, leaving attendees with the expectation that all activities were free like the walking tour itself.
In this regard, Art After Dark was a bit underwhelming for street goers trying to keep their experience budget friendly. There’s only so much happiness window shopping provides.
As 10 p.m. rolled around, street goers dispersed, but the spirit of supporting the arts remained.
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