A couple of weeks ago, Reuben Saunders, owner of a local art gallery that bears his name, took to social media with an idea to change the legendary Final Friday art crawl event to first Friday. Saunders finds that since most large cities offer a First Friday event it tends to confuse traveling art patrons and places us out of step with the national scene.
Logistically, a First Friday makes more sense. It allows a show to open at the first of the month and close at its conclusion. It also allows that November shows will no longer fall the day after Thanksgiving, when everyone is traveling, or after Christmas in December and just before New Years when spending money is depleted. The change to First Friday makes the two busiest retail months of the year much more successful for artists and galleries alike. And it makes it much more likely that new patrons will give gifts of art for the holidays.
The ideas have artists and galleries buzzing. The worry has been that it will take some planning for the City to change the Q-line that delivers art lovers to the various locations for free. But I’m sure that if the City values the entertainment dollars that the event brings, they will make the necessary changes.
I think Reuben Saunders rang the golden bell with his idea and I am hopeful that this important change will take place. It adds real strength to our important local art scene.