ArtWalk Liberty Station returns as in-person event

Paul Nestor
ArtWalk Liberty Station returns to in-person event on Aug. 7 and 8.

UPDATED: August 6, 2021 at 11:46 AM PDT

This weekend, over 200 artists will head to Arts District Liberty Station for the latest installment of ArtWalk, San Diego’s venerable art festival.

Liberty Station’s Ingram Plaza will showcase works — in person — in a lush, outdoor environment.

This is the 16th anniversary of ArtWalk at Liberty Station and the first major in-person ArtWalk event since the pandemic. Safety protocols will be in place, including sanitation stations and unvaccinated guests being asked to wear masks. ArtWalk officials said they will follow whatever safety guidelines are in place by the county at the time of the event.

Sandi Cottrell is the managing director of ArtWalk San Diego. She said Liberty Station is an ideal environment because of its accessibility and the fact that Liberty Station is known as an arts hub.

“The Arts District is a big er. It’s such a great venue to showcase the art because there’s a beautiful rose garden in the middle,” she said. “It’s surrounding that massive flag that can be seen from pretty much anywhere in Liberty Station.”

While ArtWalk features many local artists, it also attracts artists from around the country and Mexico, representing a variety of mediums.

“It’s everything from giant sculptures with water features to, of course, paintings, photography and fine jewelry,” Cottrell said. “There’s quite a variety of different style mediums and price ranges.”

Other categories of art on display include art glass, clay/pottery/porcelain, collage, metalwork, printmaking/silk screen, textiles, watercolor and woodworking.

A few notable artists exhibiting this year include Cecilia Ramirez (acrylics), Leeza Taylor (digital), Gabriel Mosesson (jewelry), Nicholas Henry (mixed media), Lucy Magee (mosaics) and Gretchen Weidner (oil).

According to Cottrell, events like ArtWalk are important because so many artists have suffered during COVID.

” I hope that people come out and artists. Many of them have had literally no place to show their work over this time. Not every artist is in a gallery or another type of space, so a huge majority of show artists, that’s their profession. They go from show to show and sell their work and they haven’t been able to do that,” she said.

Aside from browsing and enjoying art, guests will be able to enjoy live music from the likes of Evan Diamond, Robin Henkel, Marissa Grace, Astra Kelly and more. Other amenities include a beer and wine garden and a food court with different street food options like Bamboo Hut, Bread & Cheese, Dang Brother Pizza, Mariposa Ice Cream, Maui Wowi, Sabor Piri-Piri and Tacos Jalisco.

ArtWalk normally holds three events annually, but this year, only ArtWalk Liberty Station and ArtWalk Little Italy will take place (normally occurring in April, the event has been postponed to October this year). ArtWalk Carlsbad, which normally takes place in September, will return in 2022.

In addition, ArtWalk started the ArtWalk Summer Series, a smaller bi-monthly event that showcases 20 to 30 vendors in Little Italy. ArtWalk Summer Series is scheduled to run through Aug. 22, with September dates pending.

All festivals ArtWalk’s non-profit partner, ArtReach San Diego, which aims to bring art to children throughout San Diego county at no cost.