Art Walk Steps Up Attractions

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The past 12 months haven’t been easy for the Miracle Mile Art Walk. City funding for the event was slashed from $7,500 last fiscal year to $4,800. Organizers had to spend extra money to rent shuttles because the city could not donate use of a trolley to move people to different galleries. In July, food trucks declined to participate, wary of conflict with restaurants in that area.

“We have a lot of challenges to overcome,” said Shawni Dracoules, chairwoman of the art walk, which is put on quarterly by the Mid City West Community Council.

More than 40 galleries in the area stay open on nights of the art walk, allowing people to view paintings and sculptures, attend lectures and talk to artists in some cases. Entrance to museums such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Craft and Folk Art Museum is free.

But Dracoules said the challenges haven’t stopped her and other volunteer organizers from thinking bigger. The next walk, on Oct. 16, will feature the walk’s first dance performance. The piece, performed by local troupe In/Ex Dance Project, will incorporate segments of the Berlin Wall in front of the 5900 Wilshire Blvd. office building.

“I wanted to get dance out onto the boulevard,” said David Mann, a board member who organized the performance. “But also thematically, this particular group had worked with themes of walls and barriers.”

Because it’s a city-funded event, organizers can’t accept cash donations, but they are looking for more sponsors who might be able to provide in-kind services. They’re also gathering signatures officially to establish the area encompassed by the art walk as an arts district. The art walk also includes galleries on Beverly Boulevard, La Brea Avenue and San Vicente Boulevard – a stretch from Miracle Mile, which runs along Wilshire between Fairfax and La Brea avenues.

“We’re not sure what the name is going to be – people technically think of the Miracle Mile as Wilshire Boulevard,” Dracoules said. “We want to bring the arts district together and unify it.”

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