An Alternative Harvest Festival in Millerton
The miracle of Millerton’s gentrification is that it happened without art galleries, which are frequently crucial to a small town’s revival. (The Hanback Gallery, formerly of Lenox, opened on South Center Street only this August.) Nevertheless, Millerton is crawling with artists and collectors so instead of having a traditional harvest festival the merchants association decided to have a community vernissage that they’re calling Fall for Art. “We’re turning the entire town into an art gallery for one night only,” says Kent Hunter, the co-owner of Hunter Bee. “It’s the pop-up shop philosophy.”
More than 30 boutiques and businesses have agreed to show art on Saturday, October 24, from 5 to 8 p.m., and they will all be serving free hors d’oeuvres as well. “I was surprised that almost everyone in town jumped on board,” says Jonathan Bee, the co-owner of Hunter Bee, who has been trying to organize an art event since opening his shop last year. An artist who exhibited at the Wassaic Project this summer, Bee is not showing at Hunter Bee; instead, he is doing an installation at Gilmor Glass, which will also be showing the paintings of Ancram artist Nancy Rutter. Across the street, peformance artist Ken Butler will do his act at Kate Carty‘s dress shop.
While most of the exhibits will be on the walls of shops such as Oblong Books (which will show the oil paintings of Patty Mullins, right) and Little Gates Wine Merchants (which will show the paintings of Allen Bladgen and photos by his daughter Zelina, who is Rufus Wainwright’s private yoga teacher), the vacant pharmacy next door to the Moviehouse (showing the work of the late Earl Hubbard) will be turned over to Henry Klimowicz for his large cardboard sculptures. Even The Motorworks, which specializes in repairing vintage automobiles, is taking cars out of the garage for the night to show paintings by Sophia Tarrasov, who will also be selling her arty T-shirts. The Motorworks will be hosting the BYOB “after party” from 8 - 10 p.m.
Since bringing shoppers to Millerton’s stores is the not-so-subtle subtext of Fall for Art, the merchants are going to be handing out “passports” to be stamped at each participating business. Once you’ve collected eight stamps, you’ll be entered in a raffle to win one of three gift baskets each filled with hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise from local shops. “When Millerton does something,” says Bee, “we don’t fool around.”
Fall for Art
October 24
5 - 8 p.m.
