It's that time of year again when artists of all skill and experience levels descend on an empty warehouse in Lawrenceville to celebrate what has become one of the largest art events in the region.
Art All Night will hold its 16th annual event starting at 4 p.m. Saturday at 4001 Willow St. in Lawrenceville.
Anyone can submit a work from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturday. The art will then be put on display in the non-juried event. Artists will be asked if they want to offer their works for sale.
“People can go to a table and bid on particular art works that they like, and then artists can contact those people following the event to facilitate the sale,” said Lawrenceville Corp. Business Manager Maya Henry.
The event is completely run by volunteers, but Henry said her group helps to handle the books and lends a hand when it comes to publicizing the free event.
Despite having a history of moving into a new space each year, Art All Night will be back where it was last year near the base of the 40th Street Bridge.
“What’s been interesting is different spaces that they have used over the years, the use of that space for Art All Night has generated interest in the reuse of those spaces by a permanent business tenant,” said Henry, who is a regular volunteer at the event.
In recent years the event has attracted 1,200 artists and about 10 times as many viewers. This year, a slew of interactive children’s events will be offered from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Screen printing, bubble painting and the construction of a cardboard city will be among the activities in the children’s area, which will be surrounded by family friendly art.
The rest of the show is uncensored.
Several artists will also be working live at the event on paintings, cartoon art and chalk art. A full list of performances can be found at the Art All Night website.
Henry sees this as not only a great event for art lovers, but also as a boon for the neighborhood.
“A lot of businesses do stay open, and generally we have a community table at the event,” said Henry, who hopes everyone will visit one of those businesses after enjoying the art.