by Andy Lyons, Editor-in-Chief
NoBro Art Events celebrated one year of art walks with its June event. Founders Dustin Schmidt and Lucas Richardson brought their passion for art and the local community to piece together an ever growing art walk that has seen the addition of multiple businesses, dozens of artists and local food trucks.
Built off the success of Schmidt’s Pop-Up Art Shows, the duo has come together to curate as many as nine venues and a multitude of artists ranging in age from 15 to 70 years old. With each art walk building off the last, the pair sees local art communities come together to display and sell their wares as well as enjoy the artwork of others.
“It’s unbelievable,” Richardson said. “It’s really cool to see how much people want to be a part of the downtown, a part of making it better. It’s nice to see that influx of passion coming back. I never got to experience that in my lifetime yet.”
“People see the community come out to look at artwork by the community and they want to be a part of that also,” Schmidt added. “They want to support that community effort.”
For artists who create as a hobby, or maybe aren’t on the level to quit their day jobs and create art full time, the NoBro Art Walks have become a way to showcase their latest works.
“Outside of applying for a gallery and submitting artwork or renting a booth at a flea market to display your stuff, we’re the best option,” Richardson said. “We’re a mobile option. We’re here for the artists to show their work and it shows because the artists want to come and show their work.”
The art walks have also created a sense of community amongst the artists – tips of the trade and even viewing the work of other local artists can act as an inspiration. Each of the nine venues will essentially become its own gallery with a variety of works that Schmidt and Richardson curate to keep each venue from having too many artists with similar products. Avoiding “Photography Corner” means each stop on the art walk gets a variety of styles and mediums.
Both Schmidt and Richardson talked about the excitement of not only seeing work and meeting new artists, but seeing what the returning artists have done differently or new work.
“We get to see the progress of the artists almost happening before our eyes, 60 days difference but every other month there’s not a lot of time spent making masterpieces. But you see people putting out cool new work every time, expanding and growing and progressing,” Richardson said. “I myself have grown considerably doing all this as an artist.”
Recently, the addition of food trucks has given people a chance to grab a quick bite while moving between stops during the art walks. Downtown Sedalia boasts two sit-down restaurants so the food trucks also add something different to the mix that visitors wouldn’t normally have the option to eat.
The decision to host the NoBro Art Walks bi-monthly was out of the desire to have artists show new pieces of work each show. Schmidt understands people are busy with their day jobs or other obligations so it’s a decent amount of time for artists to actually create something new.
People hear about it from the surrounding areas including Lake of the Ozarks, Warrensburg and Marshall. Schmidt said the way more artists or businesses can get involved in the art walks is to simply reach out to either him or Richardson, or send a message to the NoBro Art Events Facebook page.
The August Art Walk will feature nine Sedalia venues Aug. 3: Two-Bit Barber Company, Fitters 5th Street Pub, State Fair Floral, Ohio Hair Company, Ozark Coffee Co., Craft Beer Cellar, Liberty Center, 7th Street Artist Co-op, and Hotel Bothwell. The walk will also feature 20 local artists. It lasts from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. View a Facebook event page here.
For more, follow NoBro Art Events on Facebook here. Follow them on Instagram here.