Lazy Sunday

Debbie Mikula, Arts Council of Greater Lansing executive director, stresses that this event is not meant to supplant Lansing’s long standing First Sunday Gallery Walk.

“There a several galleries who do really well on First Sunday,” she said. “We don’t want to mess with the galleries that are having success.”

The First Sunday Gallery Walk has several challenges. First of all, it has no central organizing body. Gallery participation is voluntary, and there is no umbrella organization to provide marketing and publicity.

Another significant challenge is the geographically segmented Lansing art scene.

“We have three distinct downtowns: Old Town, REO Town and downtown Lansing,” explained Mikula. “And a lot of art happening in East Lansing.”

An event like the First Sunday Gallery Walk works best when, as the name implies, participants can walk from gallery to gallery. Geographically isolated galleries, like downtown Lansing’s La Fille Gallery and REACH Studio Art Center’s brand new youth art gallery in REO Town, are a tough sell for walkers trying to take in several galleries in one afternoon.

Even spaces in gallery-dense areas such as Old Town have felt a loss of momentum in the First Sunday Gallery Walk.

“Every month, they seemed to be getting slower,” said Katrina Daniels, program director at Old Town’s MICA Gallery. “We were putting a lot of resources into First Sunday but only getting a handful of people.”

When gallery owners and the Greater Lansing Arts Council began to look around for an example of a successful evening event, they didn’t have to look far. Kalamazoo’s Art Hop, held on the first Friday evening of each month, draws an estimated 100,000 people to downtown Kalamazoo annually. While no formal economic studies have been done, Beth McCann, deputy director of the Arts Council of Greater Kalamazoo, said the economic impact of Art Hop could be as high as $2.43 million per year.

Mikula has met with leaders of the Art Council of Greater Kalamazoo to tap into their experience.

“They have 20 years´ experience building their event,” said Mikula. “The question we ask is: How do we replicate their success, but in a way that fits Lansing?”

McCann, in meetings with Mikula, laid out five principles that have let to Art Hop’s success: coordination, timing, mapping, marketing materials, and resources.

In the proposed new event, the Arts Council of Greater Lansing would provide the over-arching coordination for the event. This arrangement would allow for consistency of branding and publicity.

As for timing, a move to Friday nights is an attempt to reach a younger audience on an evening when they would already be planning on going out.

The Art Hop model also sidesteps some of the geographical difficulties of the existing gallery walk. Rather than being gallery-driven, Art Hop is neighborhood-driven. The arts council chooses a neighborhood, and then works to place art in retail spaces and restaurants. Detailed maps direct attendees to participating locations. This is one concept Mikula is particularly eager to employ.

“We want to connect retailers with artists,” said Mikula. “How do we place artist in stores? How do we place artists in restaurants? We want to put art in every nook and cranny.”

Marketing materials are another key aspect of Art Hop’s success. The arts council provides participating locations with large banners that identify them as Art Hop stops.

The final component, resources, is no small hurdle. Marketing and promotional materials takes money, and locating that money is a significant part of the Art Council of Greater Lansing’s planning. Mikula said that the group is in the early stages of seeking out sponsors and grant opportunities to fund the event.

Of course, lining up funding and planning an event of this scope will take some time, and Mikula is setting a cautious timeline. She doesn’t expect to roll out the new event until spring 2016.

“It’s not an overnight thing,” she said. “We’re going to take time to plan and do it correctly. We want to come out with a big splash.”

Not all galleries are on board with a Friday evening event. Roy Saper, owner of East Lansing’s Saper Gallery, plans to continue with First Sunday Gallery Walk as his first priority.

“We’ve been in operation for 36 years because we do what our clients want,” said Saper via email. “They clearly like the First Sunday Gallery Walk. That is why we will stay with it.”

Saper, one of the originators of First Sunday Gallery Walk some 20 years ago, has seen continued success where other galleries have experienced lagging attendance.

“We have some First Sundays with several hundred people visiting in three to four hours,” he said. “We have had at least two with more than 1,000 visitors.”

For his part, Saper fully supports galleries who choose to participate in a Friday event — provided they don’t try to replace First Sunday Gallery Walk.

“If someone wants a change, make it an addition for those who want to participate,” he said. “But don’t get rid of what’s been created that works.”

While the Friday Night Art Walk is still in its gestational period, Daniels is already shifting her emphasis at MICA Gallery to evening events. She recently hosted her first Friday evening reception and is planning more evening events to kick off new exhibits. Daniels hopes to tap into — and help bolster — Lansing’s vital nightlife.

“People might pair (a reception) with dinner,” she said. “We’re trying to get people to stay in Lansing, to make it a night out.

“There’s a lot to offer here. We’d like to promote arts and culture on a broader scale.”