By James Sloan, Rogue Valley Times
Returning for the second time ever to Talent, the quarterly Fourth Friday Art Walk will celebrate the creative works of the local community while offering visitors the chance to see that art up close while participating in free, family-friendly fun across the town.
Twelve different businesses, organizations and the city of Talent are participating and hosting locations with activities and art to admire.
“When I see a lot of people in Talent, that’s exciting, so I think to make that come together for the community and seeing people out and about is super great; you couldn’t ask for more than that,” said Donna Ruiz, chair of the Talent Public Art Committee, an artist and a key organizer of the art walk.
The Fourth Friday Art Walk is scheduled for 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 25, with some of the participating locations staying open until 8 p.m.
The 12 different businesses and organizations hosting space for the art walk are Art Bop Beer Co., Gather Cafe Bistro Bar, Goldback and Iruai Wine Room, Om Sweet Om, Project Space, Sweet Beet Station, Talent Beauty Spot, Talent City Hall, Talent Historical Society, Talent Maker City, The Talent Gallery and Trium Wines.
Many of the participating locations will showcase art from local creatives such as Talent Elementary School students and professional artists.
The Talent Gallery will showcase the work of its 20 artists as well as newcomer Jolene Monheim at its historic Malmgren Garage location on Talent Avenue.
“Jolene is going to be presenting some beautifully done photos of flower arrangements, still lifes as well as underwater photography,” said Bruce Bayard, one of the gallery’s founders and a local multimedia artist. “She’s an amazing photographer, and for the still lifes of flowers, she grew and cut and arranged the flowers in her studio.”
New member and multi-talented artist Karla Holland Scholer will also have some of her works on display.
“She does wonderful, magical realism scenes on 3-D vessels,” Bayard said.
Many of the other locations will have activities or showcases as well.
“Talent Maker City is going to have a class for kids — I think there might be a $5 charge — and they’ve also hung children’s masks going up the stairs,” Ruiz said.
Talent City Hall will display some of the Talent Elementary School kids’ works as well as some other local artists’ pieces.
“I love to see that and love to give people that opportunity and they’re so grateful; I’m an artist myself and l know that when people compliment me, well everything you create for yourself, but when people love it, it’s heartwarming,” Ruiz said.
The Talent Gallery initially started the art walk event, and in December 2024, community organizers with the city of Talent, Talent Business Alliance, the gallery and others got together with a grand idea of expanding the art walk to include many different parts of the town.
The first Fourth Friday Art Walk was held Jan. 24, and the current format for organizers is to have quarterly art walks throughout the year.
“The first one went really well; I don’t know the exact numbers but there were quite a few people in Talent and it was really cold, but people still came out and it was just amazing,” Ruiz said.
There will be two additional art walks after the one in April, with one on June 25 and the last of the year on Oct. 24.
Organizers of the art walk have big ideas for its future.
“One of the things we want to do is get the rest of the (Talent area) businesses involved,” Ruiz said. “We’re thinking about putting more of a bicycle aspect to this; people come off the Greenway or the bike store and bike or walk up to the city … and ultimately it would be awesome if we had a trolley.”
To learn more about the Fourth Friday Art Walk, visit talentbusinessalliance.org/events/art-walk.
The Talent Gallery hosts weekly artist talks at noon on Sundays, and mixed media artist Denise Kester will present a talk on art and avoidance Sunday, April 27.
This article appeared in Rogue Valley Times and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
This work is being supported by RARE AmeriCorps member Cecelia Bagnoli.