Artistic Vision : Laguna Galleries Hope for Boost From Monthly Walks

In an effort to bolster its reputation as an arts community, Laguna Beach has begun a monthly art walk through 12 galleries along the northern reaches of Coast Highway.

First Thursdays on Gallery Row began recently, and backers hope the event becomes a tradition.

Gallery owners have committed to staying open four hours past their usual closing, until 9 p.m., so their artwork gains a bigger audience.

“We want to bring more visibility to the gallery row area,” said Sian Poeschl, who was appointed by the City Council in October as Laguna’s first arts coordinator. “But more than that, we want to make art more accessible to people.”

As First Thursdays become more popular, organizers hope that the rest of the city joins in so art watchers can make an evening of it: strolling the galleries about a mile north of Main Beach Park, grabbing some dinner and catching a music show.

The Laguna Art Museum is also extending its hours until 9 p.m.

“Maybe it will awaken a few people to the city’s art world,” said 69-year-old Gloria Rossi of Laguna Beach, who was touring the galleries on North Coast Highway.

As expected, galleries in this oceanfront community offer lots of watercolor beach scenes. But there were other types of art for sale. Among the offerings: oil paintings of industrial sites in Los Angeles and San Francisco, modern sculpture, and fruit and flower watercolors. Prices, too, are varied, ranging between $400 and $8,000.

Adrienne Fitzgerald, who owns the Left Bank Gallery, said a couple who are sculpture collectors but had never seen her gallery invited her to their home to discuss a possible commission.

“Hopefully, [First Thursdays] will introduce our artists to more of the public,” Fitzgerald said.

Each gallery owner contributed $200 to the art walk to produce a glossy brochure and to pay for the balloons and revolving spotlight that shines on Gallery Row during the evening. Restaurants in the north Laguna Beach area also stayed open late.

“Laguna Beach has a long-treasured heritage here in the arts community that we’re very proud of,” Mayor Steve Dicterow said.

But while enthusiasm for the program is strong in a city where the high school sports teams are called the Artists, consistently drawing art lovers on First Thursdays may prove to be a challenge. The next event is March 5.

“The quality of the art will do it,” said Peter Blake, who owns a gallery of contemporary and modern art. “If they’re not encouraged or stimulated by the art, then forget it.”

Others suggested donating a percentage of any art sold on First Thursdays to a charity, such as the school fund-raising group SchoolPower, or holding lectures by artists or gallery owners as other ways to keep crowds coming.