Ball State University and the Muncie community will join together in a celebration of art and culture this evening from 5 to 9 p.m. for the fourth annual ArtsWalk.
ArtsWalk is a community event that showcases various aspects of art throughout the city of Muncie, said Cheryl Crowder, special events coordinator for Downtown Development.
The event will include artwork, street performances and local cuisine, according to Crowder.
Crowder said there will also be live art demonstrations including ceramic artists, glassblowers, chainsaw artists, jewelry makers and welders.
In addition to the downtown events, a MITS trolley will be providing transportation from the downtown galleries to the Ball State University Museum of Art, the Atrium Gallery and Minnetrista, Crowder said.
"The ArtsWalk is an attempt to bring the university and the town together," Robert Kvam, dean of Ball State's College of Fine Arts, said.
According to Kvam, Ball State will contribute a jazz band, a brass ensemble, an improv group and a faculty and student art demonstration to the ArtsWalk.
"Our effort is to develop a better connection between the university and the community," Kvam said.
In addition to the Ball State students contributing to the ArtsWalk from the Fine Arts Department, 10 other students from the Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry are participating as well.
Ana De Brea, assistant professor of architecture, lead the students in developing an exhibit called "Americas: North and South."
According to De Brea, she took six architecture students and four art students to Argentina to study the differences and similarities between North America and South America.
The exhibit consists of an indoor installation piece as well as an outdoor ally decorated as a gallery, said De Brea.
According to Hartley, his gallery will feature two potter's wheels along with lessons outside of the shop and jewelry for sale inside of the shop.
Ball State student and local artist Benny Sanders attended the ArtsWalk last year and plans on attending again tonight.
"Muncie used to be known as an industrial town and it's nice to see the city focusing on art," Sanders said.
Sanders said that he appreciates the way that the downtown community brings attention to the art and culture of the whole city.
Jenny Gordy, owner of Gordy's Fine Art and Framing, said that events like the ArtsWalk are a major factor in the growing interest of the downtown community.
"Downtown is really reaching a critical mass of merchants, venders, young people and Ball State students," Gordy said.
Crowder said that the ArtsWalk is a fun way for the Ball State community and the Muncie community to learn from one another.
"We want the community to visit Ball State and to be aware of what Ball State has to offer, and we want the students to be down here and be aware of what the community has to offer," Crowder said. "When all of the talent of the community comes together, it becomes a really fun way to showcase what is going on around the community."
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