A project that will use retail space on Allyn Street for temporary art installations gets underway this weekend.
The Art on Allyn Street series will launch Oct. 2 at 111 Allyn St., the Hartford Carriage House Apartments.
The series will use vacant ground-floor retail space in the apartment building to showcase local artists — free of charge to the artists — as a way to increase foot traffic along the downtown street while promoting local arts and artists.
The first installations on Oct. 2 are “Poetry On The Streets Hartford Speaks,” by Melanie Faranello and “Human Facades,” by Chris Gann.
Faranello created POTS to engage passersby in creative self-expression. She sets up in public spaces, including street corners and bus stops, in an attempt to connect with people through the poetry of everyday life and by sharing words from people with different perspectives and backgrounds.
Gann, a Florida native, has worked on many community-based art projects while living in Enfield with his wife and two children. He uses watercolor and gouache for smaller works on paper, then uses acrylic and house paints for larger paintings.
The launch event will feature visual displays in addition to poetry readings by Olusanya Bey and Anne:Gogh, a free book giveaway, a live painting, and an interactive poem writing from 3 to 5 p.m.
The Art on Allyn Street series, which is being overseen by the Blue Haus Group, is expected to run through the fall season this year, with new artists announcements to be released monthly.
