By Elizabeth Suggs

Sugar House - On the second Friday of every month, an art walk thrives in Sugar House. Local businesses, such as Unhinged, Local Colors, Smith Crown, The Green Loft, One World Gifts, Rockwood Studios, Artistic Framing Co, Sugar House Coffee, Saltgrass Printmakers, Brittany Golden Studio and Cameron Wellness Center, give Sugar House residents and nonresidents a chance to gaze over art pieces from both old and new artists. For Emily Potts, of Sugar House Coffee, the best part about any art walk is the type of people she meets. 

“We have a different spectra of people and artists,” Potts said. “We usually have up-and-coming artists every month.”

The art walk is set out so that those who wish to participate can walk to different venues. The longest distance for the November art walk was between the Green Loft, 2834 S. Highland Drive, as the first venue, and Cameron Wellness Center, 1945 South 1100 East, as the last venue. 

But Sugar House Art Walk was not always as big as it is now. It has been four years since the art walk became official. In previous art walk attempts, according to Potts, Sugar House’s art walk worked with Sugar House Coffee to give artists a chance to showcase their work. 

Art enthusiasts, she explained, were able to stroll around Sugar House Coffee and check out local artists’ work. However, Sugar House Coffee, being a coffee house, barred the art walk from going much further. The art walk had to expand. 

“We wanted our own little venue,” Potts said. “This is an [opportunity] for people that can’t get into bigger art galleries.” 

One World Gifts will have a nativity scene in November and December in hopes of aspiring to Ten Thousand Villages’ nativity scene. 

“Right now we have about 50 to 60 nativity pieces,” Bekke Robb, an owner of One World Gifts, said. “We’re hoping to get more.” 

According to Bekke Robb, One Worlds Gifts’ nativity scene is part nonprofit, not from locals. This is a chance to see art from all around the world. 

One exhibit in particular usually pairing with Sugar House Art Walk, the Green Loft Co-op, will be working with the art walk, as well as their own holiday stroll. According to Kristina Lenzi, an artist who showcases her own work during Green Loft Co-op, the co-op normally has two or three artists showcased per month. 

Where their exhibit would pair with the art walk, having only two or three artists at a time, the Green Loft Co-op chose 20 artists, with much smaller exhibits for the holiday season. 

“We’re doing our holiday show in November and December,” Lenzi said. “So, we’ll be open during both art walks.” 

The art walk has shown their support of the Green Loft’s decision by highlighting them on the Sugar House Art Walk’s Facebook page. The friendship is easy with the art walk and Green Loft. For Potts, the Green Loft has the ability to reach clientele the art walk couldn’t, and shows their support by getting the word out to new clients. 

“Green Loft has a huge email list,” Potts said. “It’s bringing in a whole new clientele.”