The Mission Federal ArtWalk is making some changes to celebrate its 31st year in San Diego. Taking place on the weekend of April 25-26, this free-to-attend annual art extravaganza will feature a brand new footprint, as the festival will utilize Little Italy’s iconic India Street as a major location for the artist tents and vendors - shifting the entire festival a little closer to the heart of the neighborhood. Another highlight for the 2015 event is a very special tribute to Balboa Park’s Centennial celebration. The sprawling festival will cover 15 blocks in Little Italy, filling the neighborhood with more than 350 artists and an estimated 120,000 attendees for Southern California’s largest fine art festival.
Although India Street has always served as the heart of the event, this year’s guests will experience many more art exhibits on India Street and allows guests to avoid the ongoing construction off India and W. Date Streets for Little Italy’s new public Piazza Famiglia project.
Mission Federal ArtWalk will also have new interactive activities for adults and kids. The adult interactive activity will be presented by ArtBeat and San Diego Visual Arts Network, and will guide participants on a fun and easy printmaking project. This project only takes a few minutes, but will leave participants with a masterpiece they can enjoy for years to come. For the little ones, KidsWalk will be chock-full of artfully interactive hands-on experiences for kids. Activities include an Art FORM activity with recycled materials, a coloring activity with Classics 4 Kids, a nature-focused craft experience with the Living Coast Discovery Center, activity sheets with Monart School of the Arts, chalk drawing with the New Children’s Museum, a prop-making activity and photo opportunity with ArtReach, and much more.
In addition to its activities, Mission Federal ArtWalk is also focused on spotlighting new artists. Fifty-three artists are new to the event, including artists from New Zealand and Italy. This year also highlights ten exceptional artistic talents, who were all honored at ArtWalk’s ARTIE Awards earlier this month. The featured artists for Mission Federal ArtWalk 2015 include local San Diegans, Sue Britt, Ellen Dieter and Christine Schwimmer, along with Mark Allen, Hong Rubinstein, Christina Leta, Dorothee Naumberg, Karen O’Brien, Scott Palmer and Tim Pattison.
For more information on Mission Federal ArtWalk, the featured artists and other details, visit artwalksandiego.org.
