On Thursday night, I checked out Art Trolley and Gallery Night in Newport, a relatively new event designed to provide a platform for the many galleries in the seaside city. The event is run by the Newport Artists Collective and aims to strengthen Newport’s thriving art scene by allowing artists to connect, collaborate and exhibit their work while also interacting with the community.
What worked?
I was impressed by the number of galleries that have become part of the collective (over 40 in total) and the maps that are distributed in each of the galleries. The glossy maps can be found in many places around Newport and they include handy QR codes for a more detailed Google map with the full list of participating galleries, as well as another QR code to learn more about the collective. I loved the beautifully designed map and found it super easy to navigate using Google Maps on my phone.
“Newport should be on the map as an art destination,” said Curtis Speer, chairman and president of the collective and owner of CUSP Gallery and Lifestyle on Broadway and Spring Street. He was instrumental in reviving Gallery Night in Newport after a period of dormancy. “There are the mansions and the boats and the balls and the galleries and the jazz festival. We can be everything to everyone because everything is here. The talent is here.”
“They take their work seriously. They are passionate about what they do,” Speer added.
The artist also hosts the invigorating Art Salon evening on Thursdays in “The Living Room” on the grand second floor of the Brenton Hotel. This event takes place every Thursday and is a huge success, with full houses even in the less busy winter months. The Salon began last October, features (usually) a single artist on the evening and takes place every Thursday from 5-7pm.
“I think we’ve accomplished a lot in less than a year,” Speer said of the art salon’s success. “We saw how successful it became. I mean, it happened almost overnight. We thought, ‘Oh, we’re onto something here,'” he added.
While the enthusiasm for the art salon at the Brenton Hotel is undeniable, Speer hopes to build on that success to expand the gallery night, which began in January this year.
You can take the art trolley right in front of the Brenton, it is the starting point of the gallery tour.
“It took a long time to get the momentum right to put on something like a gallery night with enough excitement,” says Alexander Nesbitt, who has been running his photo studio on the Thames for about 20 years.
What challenge fascinated me?
The gallery tour is also operated by the collective’s tram. I liked this idea but didn’t end up using it. One reason for this was that I was focusing on some of the art galleries along the Thames where the tram doesn’t go, but rather stays on the larger streets like Broadway and America’s Cup Avenue.
“It should really work,” Nesbitt said of the excitement the gallery night is generating. “So I think the excitement just has to overcome geography,” he added, saying the previous gallery night had been disrupted by COVID.
Another reason I missed the trolley was because I was busy interviewing various gallery managers and so couldn’t really hop on and off to visit more places – I will do that next time. And when I didn’t opt for the trolley, I didn’t know where to find it again, which brings me to one of the problems with the service. If the collective can find a way to make it more obvious How to catch it and Whereit will be a great boon to gallery night, especially if you want to visit some of the places that are a little off the beaten path, like the DeBlois Gallery in Middletown. The trolley has been rented by the collective to cover the areas where the galleries are located, and it has all the signs of being a great asset.
“I think it’s a great thing and it works,” said Jessica Hagen, who has run Jessica Hagen Fine Art & Design, now on Bridge Street, for nearly 20 years. “And we all really owe a huge debt of gratitude to Curtis Speer,” she added.
Speer also served as the first museum guide in the trolley and informed the public about the individual venues.
And that brought me to another point: I had no idea that a knowledgeable docent was part of the process! It’s a different docent each time and this resource provides information about the galleries and the area. It’s a fantastic way to get to know the gallery scene in Newport and it’s completely free! Now I was super disappointed that I’d missed it. But I plan to join next time.
There is talk of possibly getting a second car, which would be even more convenient. It is expensive to rent two, but the collective is looking into ways to raise funds for this possibility.
“We are part of such a supportive community,” Speer said of his hopeful fundraising efforts.
Or maybe a way to interactively tell people where they can take the trolley. That would be helpful too. There’s a stop right outside CUSP on Broadway. It’s very convenient to get on and visit a lot of places in the area.
Plan your hike strategically
There are currently a lot of galleries included and while we love the variety, you definitely need to choose your strategy wisely. It’s simply not possible to visit all 41 galleries in one night. When I first took a look at the full list of galleries, I honestly felt a bit overwhelmed. However, once I decided to focus on a specific area, my walking tour went well.
“A lot of other people who aren’t actually part of Gallery Night are getting on board, but Thursday night is now known as an art event,” Hagen said of the other offerings being added to Gallery Night, all of which she sees as positive developments. “So there are open studios. I mean, the more the merrier.”
The gallery night process continues to evolve. For smaller galleries, trolley and art nights can be a great way for audiences to experience new venues like Sitka, which took over the intimate space next to the Franklin Spa last year.
“We’re really excited because a family came in and said they’ve always wanted to come by and participate in gallery night but hadn’t had the chance. That was proof to us that it works,” said Tamar Russell-Brown, board member and vice president of the collective, on Sunday at the opening of their exciting exhibition “Art with Intention,” organized entirely by women artists in collaboration with the National Association of Women Artists-Massachusetts (NAWAMA).
“Our guests also came on foot, but I think some of the people that night had people who came on the tram, so it worked,” added Russell-Brown.
For others, like Overlap, however, gallery night was more of a challenge. The innovative gallery didn’t have many visitors on Thursday, but when I attended the opening of their exhibition “Garden Magic” on Saturday, the modern space was packed with enthusiasts. This makes me believe that including the harder-to-reach galleries is a challenge that requires more detailed planning. Galleries like Overlap are worth discovering.
Overall, though, I enjoyed visiting as many inviting galleries as I could. I discovered several places I hadn’t been to before, and the trolley is a great asset that I look forward to exploring, especially with the nice bonus of being able to learn more from an expert docent.
Newport’s lively summer is a busy time, and Art Trolley and Gallery Night are must-sees.
The remaining gallery nights are:
- 5 September
- October 10
- 7 November
- 5 December
For more information about the Newport Artists Collective, visit their website.
