The Arts Commission Presents the final 2019 Art Loop
Celebrate this “most wonderful time of the year” with the final Art Loop of the 2019 season Thursday, Dec. 19 from 5:39-9 p.m. at multiple venues throughout downtown Toledo.
This month features last-minute gifts and shopping at local businesses with local artist vendors, food and holiday-themed exhibitions and light art and projection installations.
Don’t forget to check out the holiday light displays at Hensville Park and Promenade Park.
Shop local: Choose from items made by local and regional independent designers, makers, and artisans from shops like Handmade Toledo, Devoon Jūpmode, House of Dow, Gathered Glassblowing Studio, Graphite Design + Build, Art & Soul Art Supply Depō and more. (See the Art Loop interactive map on the Facebook event page.)
• Art & Soul at the Library – Main Library, 325 N. Michigan. Stop by this unique shop showcasing local and regional artists of handmade jewelry, pottery, glass, paper, wood, children’s items and more.
Also enjoy free, family-friendly Art Loop activities throughout the library and free parking on Art Loop nights until 9 p.m.
• Mini-Makers Mart, Handmade Toledo, 1717 Adams St. – Find original and unique gifts by more than 100 makers from around the region.
• Holiday Bazaar, 23 N. Huron, 6-9 p.m. – Join Gathered Glassblowing Studio and Graphite Design + Build for a Holiday Bazaar, featuring music by Ragtime Rick, local makers and artists, live glass blowing demonstrations, food trucks, outdoor fire pits, and a cash bar by Toledo Spirits Company with Christmas Ale on tap.
• River House Arts, 144 N. Superior – River House Arts is celebrating their 10th year with CAKE, a lively group exhibition featuring works of glass, painting, fiber, and mixed media. The exhibition is comprised of artists Madurima Ganguly, Loraine Lynn, Crystal Gale Phelps, Cha-U-Kao, Alli Hoag, Boryana Rusenova-Ina, Joanna Manousis, and Katy Richards runs through Jan.15, 2020.
• Light Up Toledo – Enjoy holiday twinkles with a stroll through 200,000 dancing 'Hensville Lights' to Hensville and Promenade parks, each featuring lit trees over 45 feet tall. Promenade Park offers great views of large-scale installation, Tower of Light and newly upgraded lighting systems on the Veteran's Glass City Skyway and Anthony Way Bridge. The Veterans Glass City Skyway includes a total of 12 lighting sequence designs developed by local artists Brien Strancar, Natalie Lanese, Gail Christofferson, Imani Lateef and Anthony McCarty. Lighting for both the Tower of Light and Anthony Wayne Bridge were designed by Erwin Redl, an international artist who produces much of his work in a studio in Bowling Green.
• The Toledo Club, 235 14th St., 6-9 p.m. – The Toledo Club opens their doors to all for the annual Parade of Trees, featuring dozens of decorated trees complete with complimentary hors d'oeuvres, special features on their Tavern menu at the Pub and entertainment from the ring of televisions around the room. Guests are welcome.
Toledo Museum of Art – Check out exhibitions like Yayoi Kusama’s site-specific installation, "Fireflies on the Water,” “Anila Quayyum Agha: Between Light and Shadow” and “Global Conversations: Art in Dialogue” as well as the “Everything in Rhythm” installation featuring a multisensory display, exploring the relationship between art and music. Stop by the Glass Pavilion Hot Shop for public demonstrations (free at 8 p.m.).
• Walk the Block, HeART Gallery, 428 N. Erie – The Adams-Jackson Street block celebrates the Toledo Art Loop with a holiday decorating contest. Check out the participating businesses and restaurants. People’s Choice ballots can be cast at HeART Gallery, where visitors will find 100 nativities surrounded by beautifully decorated trees, live music and a cookie and hot cocoa bar with unique creches from 20 countries.
Additional viewing hours are Friday, Dec. 20, 12-8 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 21, 12-4 p.m.
• Imagination Station, 1 Discovery Way – Admission is $5 after 5 p.m. on Art Loop nights. During construction of the KeyBank Discovery Theater there will be a temporary labeled entrance. Suggested parking at the ProMedica Depo Parking Garage (corner of Summit and Jefferson - $5 fee).
The Art Loop is a program of The Arts Commission, presented in partnership with the artists and participating venues which make it possible. Wristbands to ride the Art Loop buses are $1.25, exact change. All children 12 and under, senior citizens, and students with an ID will receive complimentary wristbands to ride the Art Loop bus free of charge. Pick up wristbands at Information Stations at Handmade Toledo, Imagination Station, Main Library (starting in Oct), and Hensville.
Bus service, provided by TARTA is 100% wheelchair accessible, with lifts or ramps. To build a map, find parking, see up-to-date gallery offerings, and more visit TheArtsCommission.org/ArtLoop.