The 12th annual ART WALK celebrates veterans throughout our history. The village-wide, juried arts festival transforms retail venues into mini-art galleries where you can meet artists, see and purchase their work. Artists take up their in-store residencies on Friday, June 16th from 7-9pm, Saturday, June 17, from 12-7pm and Sunday, June 18 from 12-5pm to discuss and sell their art.

The inspiration for ART WALK 2017 comes from the music and artistry of Bob Dylan, who was recently awarded the Nobel Prize in literature for “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” The sentiment from his 1964 song “The times they are a-changing” is the theme of this year’s ART WALK.
“Change occurs throughout our lives. Whether negative or positive, it acts as a catalyst to our growth and ART is a perfect medium for expressing this change,” says ART WALK founder and director Paulette Ross. “This year, we salute our Veterans. As we honor all these brave women and men let us take a moment to reflect on the 100th anniversary of WWI.”

The artist selected for this year’s ART WALK poster is Walt Nygard, former Corporal, USMC, and a Vietnam Veteran. His featured piece, titled “Change,” is a linocut printed on combat paper, made from the uniforms of our brave Veterans. “Under the crush of the post-modern world,” says Nygard, “groping for connection with our Mother Nature, looking for direction in the spaces where spirit dwells, I mark symbols for you to ponder. Change is a sign for us to read, a statement, a plea, a speculation…perhaps the word is command.”

Nygard is a member of Combat Paper NJ, a non-profit organization whose specialty is in the transformative process of making handmade paper from military uniforms. Through their public workshops, they create a much needed discourse between Veterans and society. The first phase is to “deconstruct” their uniforms, and then “reclaim” the pieces, beat into pulp, and dry into paper. The final phase, “communicate,” is where the dried sheets become a platform for Veterans to communicate their stories through the new language of papermaking. An original linocut of the poster will be donated to Nyack Village Hall by Nygard on Saturday, June 17th at 12 noon in Veteran’s Park on Main Street.

This year’s ART WALK also features the debut of an interactive public art piece in Veterans’ Memorial Park on Main St. entitled “Traveling Wall of Hope” by Scott Fine. The project combines passion, empathy, and historic political references. By writing a wish, hope, or dream on a piece of colored paper and placing it into one of the many holes in the wall, everyone comes together in a quiet, spiritual way co-creating a unique colorful display of light and shadow. “With so many issues swirling around us, Scott’s “Traveling Wall of Hope” can give us some common ground of inclusion and reflection,” says Ross. Nyack’s ART WALK becomes the first stop on the Wall’s journey with a permanent replica donated to the Nyack Village Hall by Scott and will be exhibited on the 2nd floor.

You can learn more about Combat Paper NJ and see all of Walt’s art at p.ross boutique at 89 Main Street, 845-348-1767 or contact Paulette Ross directly at 845-480-1693 or at info@prossboutique.com.