Photos and story by Erin Alexander / Contributing Writer
Correction: Artists of the Boro Art Crawl are not asked to pay any fees to the venues. Participation is free for both artists and venues.
As usual, several stores, whose permanent location resides on the square, participated in the crawl as they opened their doors to local artists, allowing them to showcase their work to the public. Tables full of canvases and other forms of artwork were set up inside the small shops.
Emily Celeste Alexander was one of the artists who displayed her work at Sugaree’s, a small clothing shop on the square. Many of her pieces were miniature in size and seemed to give off a very free and light-hearted vibe. Interestingly enough, portraits of scrumptious-looking slices of cheesecake proved to be one of Alexander’s most popular items of the night. She also embraced the holiday season by providing paintings of various Christmas-themed emojis.
“You basically just come out here to get noticed,” Alexander said. “You don’t really expect to sell anything. I tried to make a lot of Christmas-themed stuff since the holidays are coming up.”
However, paintings were not the only type of artwork at the Boro Art Crawl. Kelsey Keith, a freshman at MTSU and commercial songwriting major, sat in front of a display window at the Funtiques store by the square. Her music was the first thing guests heard as they approached the store as she performed with a guitar in-hand, while accepting tips.
“This will probably be my last gig for the year,” Keith said. “I do this stuff a lot. My goal after college is to hopefully travel and sing.”
Keith also writes her own music, and like many of the other artists she felt that the art crawl was a wonderful way to help get her music out in the public.
Other Murfreesboro businesses, such as Mayday Brewery, Center for the Arts, Reed & Embry, Jimmy Fox Insurance, Moxie Gallery and City Hall Rotunds, were also represented at the crawl. For example, Mayday featured live music and a food truck, while Vibe Nutrition featured the Bohemian Sisters at their store.
The Boro Art Crawl is a fairly new idea that has come to Murfreesboro, and it, so far, has received positive revenue. For artists interested in participating in the crawl, a form will need to be filled out and photos of work must be submitted. Then, each artist is matched with a shop or vendor.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Tayhlor Stephenson, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com.
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