First Wednesday Art Walk, the event designed to create a more vibrant Downtown one evening each month, is now in its 9th year.
The self-guided tour of Downtown art galleries, booths in Hemming Plaza, retailers and entertainment venues is about to change.
Downtown Vision Inc., the advocacy organization funded by an additional tax assessment on Downtown property owners in a 90-square-block improvement district, has conducted a survey and formed a committee to explore ways to improve the event.
"It has been a while since we had significant changes. Art Walk has to evolve. Nine years is a lot of success. Our opportunity is to grow it for another nine years," said Katherine Hardwick, DVI director of marketing.
The group met for the first time Thursday to hear results from the survey and begin to discuss possible changes that could increase Art Walk attendance and make it a more effective asset for artists and businesses.
Hardwick reviewed draft results of an online survey with 539 responses by people who "already have an affinity for Downtown," she said. Hardwick said 95 percent of the respondents completed the entire survey, giving it a 95-percent "level of confidence."
While the final results will be published later, the draft report distributed at the meeting shows that Art Walk attracts a young (mostly 25-34 years of age) and well educated (almost 7 out of 10 respondents have bachelors or graduate degrees) audience.
Visual artists and crafters, live music and performers and a variety of venues and art galleries led the list of elements those surveyed feel are important to the Art Walk experience.
"People want to see the focus of Art Walk remain art," Hardwick said.
In terms of other amenities, more than 8 out of 10 responses indicated not enough food is offered at Art Walk. Food trucks and sidewalk carts led the suggestion categories for increasing food options.
Results from the survey indicate the audience is not very interested in making Art Walk more of a family-friendly event. More than 6 out of 10 respondents indicated "no opinion" when asked if there are enough offerings for children.
Hardwick said 240 respondents offered comments and suggestions. Comments include that Art Walk make Downtown "come alive," and having free admission to the Museum of Contemporary Art during the event is a reason to attend.
Suggestions included improving the quality and variety of the art and improving signage and event promotional materials.
Art Walk Manager Liz Grebe said a survey of artists in Hemming Plaza indicated they would like to have a more organized setup procedure, better lighting in the plaza and more police officers in the area during Art Walk.
Hardwick said Hemming Plaza is "the area we control" and that DVI has had "a little pushback" from artists about the $15 charge to sell art or crafts in the plaza. DVI instituted the charge Jan. 2 to offset the $3,500 monthly cost associated with the event, said Hardwick.
She said in addition to helping DVI offset the cost of the event, charging artists a fee to participate "could enhance the art offerings in the plaza."
The committee plans to meet again in about a month, when a new website dedicated to providing information about Art Walk should be ready for a "soft launch," Grebe said.
For more information, visit downtownjacksonville.org.
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