Take a stroll

If one seeks, one shall find. Hidden among side streets of downtown, winding up the hills of the Avenues and into Sugar House, are several art galleries. Variety is their common denominator.

The Salt Lake Gallery Association held another of its Gallery Stroll events last weekend to help promote these galleries.

The next such gallery "Stroll" is Friday, Oct. 21.

Various SLGA members across the Salt Lake area remain open after hours for the public during these events to meet artists and browse the exciting and thriving visual arts market in Salt Lake City. The event is always free. Some sponsors offer special discounts and rates for those who participate in Gallery Stroll, too.

Brook Watson and Ali Rigby, recent high school graduates from Riverton, looked at the list of galleries and selected a few to go to this past summer. They said the event was "eye opening," and they were impressed by the talent they saw at the Horne Gallery, 142 E. 800 South.

"I can't do it, but I like to look at it," Watson said.

The stroll boasted 26 galleries. Few, like the Main Street Gallery and Southam Gallery on Broadway, are within "strolling" distance. Most are within a maximum of a 10-minute drive and have parking nearby.

Some regulars have become accustomed to a routine of the mix of walking and driving. In their large van, friends Megan Zimmerman and Dustin Smith visit different galleries every month, some are part of SLGA and some are not.

"I like it because they change it every month," Zimmerman, 27, said.

Smith is an artist and uses the art displayed to gather ideas.

Some galleries have specialties. Utah Artist Hands at 61 W. 100 South is exclusive to Utah artists. Others, like Art Access on 339 W. Pierpont Ave., specialize in emerging contemporary artists with disabilities.

Some galleries have themes. Horne Fine Art has a summer theme right now, and starting in September, there will be a Skyscapes theme with 20 artists' interpretation of the sky. A water theme brought in everything from close-ups of water drops, swimmers and "lake"scapes.

"We actually like to cultivate variety," said curator and artist Karen Horne. Her mother and she are part of the 20 artists that Horne features, and the gallery sometimes has events, such as artists painting at the gallery on stroll night.