Melanie Tavarez, 8, a young performer with the Casa de la Cultura Tianese, traveled from Salem with her troupe to perform at the Hispanic Heritage celebration in Springfield on Friday night. Traditional dance and mariachi music were just part of the celebration that coincided with the opening reception of the Charro Equipment exhibit at the Springfield Museum. JEN BLUE/THE CHRONICLE
SPRINGFIELD – For Springfield’s Colette Govan, the Second Friday Art Walk is one opportunity to see all the changes in town.
”There’s a lot going on here,” she said.
The September Second Friday Art Walk was held in conjunction with the Hispanic Heritage Celebration and El Grito outside of City Hall, so those taking the walk could also learn more about Latinx culture.
Govan said she came on the walk specifically so she could see the fourth annual National Juried Photography Show at Emerald Art Center. The photos were selected from across the nation. There were over 300 applications from 28 states and 90 photos were selected; 82 were featured. There was no theme to the show and 80 of the 90 photo winners came from outside Oregon.
The Emerald Art Center was the first stop on the walk, and there was also a sculpture show in the Center for viewers to experience as well, called Coffee Table and Credenza.
Madeleine Berney was chosen to be September’s guest host. Berney is a retired high school English and journalism teacher, and is now a site coordinator for SMART reading at Thurston Elementary. She is also a board member for the Springfield Education Foundation and a volunteer for the Springfield Library Foundation.
”It’s fun to go on a walk and run into people from all walks of life,” she said.
The second stop was at the City Hall Gallery, where McMinnville artist Cindy Stinson-Chennell presented her papercut works. She said she ”always felt the need to draw and ‘make things,’” and first became aware of modern papercuts when she was in Switzerland. She originally learned to design and cut in the traditional way, but now her pieces include non-symmetrical cuts. She also paints the tissue paper that is included as a background in some of her pieces.
Springfield resident John Yanov said he normally attends the walks because he ”enjoys seeing the art and meeting people.”
The third stop was A3 Academy of Arts and Academics, where the exhibition focused on works by A3 staff artists, including Shelley Albrich, Jenny Cathey, Scott Crowell, Nissie Ellison, Jim Olsen, Cody Rosenberg, Arianna Schwartz and Barb Stevens-Newcomb. It also featured Ame Beard’s black-light paintings and chocolate orange truffles.
The last stop was the Springfield Museum, which featured Latinx arts and culture displayed through clothing and equipment used by charros.
”We have wonderful textiles in the exhibit,” Madeline McGraw, museum curator, said. ”It’s wonderful to remember why I love textiles.”
Emerald Art Center board member Miriam Alexis Jordan said that the Second Friday Art Walk is her favorite project.
”I find joy in bringing people together and showing the value of art,” she said. ”Springfield’s a great place for that.”
