Outdoor art gets its due during this weekend’s Olympia Arts Walk

Molly Gilmore
·3 min read

Though it doubles as a community street party, Olympia’s Arts Walk, especially the fall edition, typically centers around the art found inside local businesses and nonprofits, which are transformed for the weekend into galleries and performance spaces.

All of that is happening Friday and Saturday, Oct. 6 and 7, at this fall’s Arts Walk, which features art at 83 downtown locations — significantly more than the 70 that participated in fall 2019, the last fall Arts Walk before the pandemic.

“I’m most excited about seeing stuff continuing to come back,” said Arts Walk coordinator Angel Nava. “The community is showing up, and our artists and businesses are participating in bigger ways. It’s really awesome to see that growth.”

But this Arts Walk also is shining a spotlight on outdoor art, with a focus on some of the city’s many murals.

The spotlight is especially bright because there’s a new mural by mosaic artist Jennifer Kuhns, whose work is also featured on the event’s map. Her “Olympia Reflections” is a painterly autumn scene the artist created from a photograph she took herself. It and a retrospective of Kuhns’ work will be on view from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at Hot Toddy, 410 Capitol Way S.

Jennifer Kuhns’ detailed glass mosaic “Olympia Reflections,” based on a photo she took on a lovely fall day, is on the cover of the Fall Arts Walk map. Arts Walk happens this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 6 and 7.
Jennifer Kuhns’ detailed glass mosaic “Olympia Reflections,” based on a photo she took on a lovely fall day, is on the cover of the Fall Arts Walk map. Arts Walk happens this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 6 and 7.

It’s the second Arts Walk cover by Kuhns, whose stained-glass-like “Harvest” was featured in spring 2007. She is just the second artist to be featured on the map twice. (The first was painter Susan Aurand, whose work was featured in fall 2006 and spring 2012.)

Kuhns’ “Metamorphosis” mural, on a wall of Lloyd’s Automotive at 425 State Ave. NE, is filled with butterflies created by hundreds of people in Olympia and beyond, surrounding a central winged figure.

Mosaic mural artist Jennifer Kuhns along with a small. Crew of dedicated volunteers nears completion of a colorfully striking, butterfly-themed art price on the back wall of Lloyd’s Transmission in downtown Olympia on Sept.6, 2023. Kuhns is also the featured cover artist for the 2023 fall Olympia Arts Walk festival which will run Oct. 6-7.
Mosaic mural artist Jennifer Kuhns along with a small. Crew of dedicated volunteers nears completion of a colorfully striking, butterfly-themed art price on the back wall of Lloyd’s Transmission in downtown Olympia on Sept.6, 2023. Kuhns is also the featured cover artist for the 2023 fall Olympia Arts Walk festival which will run Oct. 6-7.

“The imagery is inspired by nature,” Kuhns said, “but there’s a social justice underlying message behind it. It’s about people being and becoming whomever they feel most comfortable being.”

The mural will be dedicated at noon Saturday. Attendees should gather east of McCoy’s Tavern at 418 Fourth Ave. E.

Also being celebrated during Arts Walk is Elise Del Giudice’s “You Are Not Alone” at the Plum Street YMCA at 505 Plum St. SE.

Elisa Del Giudice’s “You Are Not Alone,” a mural on the Plum Street YMCA, is part of an international project meant to create hope and connection and raise awareness of mental health issues.
Elisa Del Giudice’s “You Are Not Alone,” a mural on the Plum Street YMCA, is part of an international project meant to create hope and connection and raise awareness of mental health issues.

The mural, funded by the Olympia Artspace Alliance and Parking & Business Improvement Area’s Downtown Mural Project, is intended as a welcome to downtown. It’s part of an international network of murals intended to spread hope and create conversation around mental health. It’s also a celebration of Del Giudice’s love for her hometown.

The event, from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Y, will include more art by Del Giudice and a performance by Tacoma indie musician Great Comet.

The Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural, a project in collaboration with the Rachel Corrie Foundation for Peace & Justice and Art Forces, is being rededicated on Arts Walk weekend, too.

The mural, at 119-1/2 Capitol Way N., is an ongoing collaboration among many artists and organizations. It was initially completed in 2010.

The celebration — including discussions of the mural’s significance, history and future — will happen from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday. Opportunities to learn about the mural, live music, a photo exhibit and a market with arts, crafts and olive oil will continue throughout Arts Walk.

The Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural, an evolving collaborative mural project that faces State Avenue, will be rededicated Oct. 7.
The Olympia-Rafah Solidarity Mural, an evolving collaborative mural project that faces State Avenue, will be rededicated Oct. 7.

Arts Walk

  • What: The free twice-yearly event will showcase visual and performing arts at 83 businesses and other locations in downtown Olympia.

  • When: 6-10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6, and noon-6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7.

  • Where: Throughout downtown Olympia

  • Maps: Find maps — featuring “Olympia Reflections,” a glass mosaic by Jennifer Kuhns — at participating businesses.

  • More information: http://artswalkoly.com