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<\/a>The art on display will primarily be from Southern California-based artists but there will certainly be a strong presence from the international art world as well, with submissions from artists from South America and even Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have come to expect high quality art and we think it gets better every year,\u201d said Sandi Cottrell, managing director of the Mission Federal ArtWalk. \u201cWe really work at the artist selection process to bring different and new artist, and the quality this year is going to be incredible. We have one artist coming from as far away as Sweden (Andreas Hessman) and a large contingent of artists from all over Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n
A celebration of art in all forms, this year\u2019s 29th annual festival will fill seventeen blocks of Little Italy, San Diego\u2019s \u201chip and historic\u201d Italian neighborhood, which is located just north of Downtown along the waterfront.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re always really excited to single out featured artists that really represent a wide variety of mediums and styles,\u201d Cottrell said. \u201cHannie Goldgewicht is notable for what she does, it\u2019s a combination of ceramics and basketry woven together. She\u2019s of Costa Rican descent and some of this relates back to artistry that\u2019s done in her home country.\u201d<\/p>\n Cottrell said that they\u2019ve used the work of Los Angeles-based contemporary metal sculptor James Hill in their ArtWalk magazines and on all of their marketing posters for years.\u00a0 Another ArtWalk staple is multimedia artist Richard Curtner.<\/p>\n \u201c[He] creates all of his artwork out of printed words that he pulls from magazines and newspapers and uses those to outline very intricate scenes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s ArtWalk will also feature some up-and-coming young artists, including SDSU Fine Arts major and Business of Art Scholarship winner Jennifer Cerutti. The promising young painter will have her work on display at booth # 567.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s called the Business of Art Scholarship, so while they\u2019re learning how to make art at SDSU this program teaches them how to make a living as artists,\u201d Cottrell said. \u201cWe partnered with the San Diego Visual Arts Network, who offers them mentoring on all the things that it really takes to be in business as an artist.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlong with that we\u2019re also sponsoring another artist named Jo-el Tapia, who has been working with one of our sponsors, Cymer, in their digital arts lab to transfer photographs onto wood.\u201d<\/p>\n Cottrell added that in addition to the opportunity to browse and shop for fabulous art there are also a lot of other components to the event. A new feature for 2013 is called Art Meets Design, a \u201cvirtual home\u201d where people can get tips from interior designers on how they can design their homes and rooms around their artwork.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen people come to the event they often say they might find a piece of art that they really love but they have trouble envisioning it in their own home,\u201d she said.\u00a0 Through Art Meets Design, Cottrell said attendees can see how art can bring a room together.<\/p>\n Another new event will be an interactive art encounter called, \u201cGrown Up Finger-painting.\u201d Participants will be shown how to use paint and their fingers directly on the canvass to create unique works of art that will make your inner kindergartener proud.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not finger painting as you think of as what you may have done as a kid,\u201d Cottrell said. \u201cThere\u2019s actually ways of creating very intricate shadings and portraiture. The artist that we\u2019re working with on that, Gabriela Alvarez, has a really unique take on how to paint with your hands and she\u2019s going to be teaching that to the guests and they\u2019ll be able to take those home with them.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to art displays and workshops, this free outdoor festival will also include live music, dance performances and an entire section called KidsWalk, with 16 different art experiences devoted solely to fostering the creative spirit in budding young Picassos.<\/p>\n Cottrell said the KidsWalk area will follow a circus school theme with a central performance stage and tents surrounding it with 16 different art experiences all aimed at fostering a youngster\u2019s inner artist.<\/p>\n A map can be found on the event website that shows all the parking lots in the area, and event organizers highly recommend people take the trolley which lets out right in the middle of Little Italy.<\/p>\n The Little Italy Association will also be offering a valet service at the corner of India and Juniper streets. For more information, visit Missionfederalartwalk.org<\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<\/a>