Final Friday Art Crawl emerges art culture of downtown Stillwater
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
The Final Friday Art Crawl has emerged as a new Stillwater tradition, bringing hundreds to downtown Stillwater the final Friday of every month. The upcoming art crawl will take place Jan. 25 starting at 5 p.m.
Inspired by First Friday events in cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Kansas City, the art crawl brings together downtown arts organizations, galleries, restaurants and local businesses to celebrate the arts and talents of the community. Attendees are encouraged to visit the downtown area to experience unique events at each venue — typically including visual art, live entertainment and interactive activities.
Audrey Gleason, education intern at the OSU Museum of Art, hopes 2019 will bring more opportunities to the Final Friday Art Crawl, such as integrating food trucks, live entertainment, performances, vendors and additional arts-related events.
“The diverse and incredible talent within OSU and the broader Stillwater community deserves this kind of appreciation,” Gleason said. “Our mission is to spur enthusiasm about the arts for community members as well as cultivate a welcoming, inspiring and fun atmosphere for all attendees.”
The Final Friday Art Crawl was initiated by the OSU Museum of Art’s Student Advisory Committee. The group promotes engagement with the arts by providing a platform for student voices to help shape the way the museum serves OSU students.
The Student Advisory Committee has brought together multiple downtown merchants to participate in the art crawl, including Everyman, Iron Monk and PurdyQ, Blue Spruce, Greige Goods, Simplicity & Co., Typo Market, District Bicycles, Good Little Eater, Bliss Books & Bindery and StillyArts. These locations have featured student pop-up art shops, open mic poetry, live music and artist demonstrations. Participating venues and activities are updated on a monthly map released prior to each Final Friday on the OSU Museum of Art website.
The Downtown Stillwater Cultural District (DSCD) affiliates, composed of the OSU Museum of Art, Prairie Arts Center, Modella Art Gallery, Stillwater History Museum at the Sheerar, Stillwater Public Library and Stillwater Community Center, also actively participate in the Final Friday Art Crawl. The DSCD affiliates unite to support visual and performing arts, as well as history and cultural attractions in Stillwater.
“The Final Friday Art Crawl is starting to coin a prolific event for the Stillwater community,” said Victoria Berry, director of the OSU Museum of Art. “Uniting downtown Stillwater provides many opportunities for the city at large — and we have exciting expectations for 2019.”
For more information about the Final Friday Art Crawl, view the map or to get involved, visit museum.okstate.edu/final-Friday.