Local artists sold and showed off their work to the Eau Claire area community at the Banbury Art Crawl in Banbury Place from Feb. 6 – 7.

Each floor hosted a plethora of artists with a variety of different art forms such as acrylic painting, digital drawings and terracotta ceramics. 

This was the 16th Banbury Art Crawl, which happens annually during the first weekend in February. 

Eau Claire resident Kristen Protheroe said she appreciated that many artists made a point of including that they don’t use artificial intelligence tools in their works and wanted to support the variety of human artwork on display at the event.

“It’s very fun seeing what everyone in town has to offer,” Protheroe said. “You have glass, you have painting, you have ceramics and you have this huge variety that makes it worth coming out to see.”

John DeRosa, a member of the Banbury Events Committee, said this diversity of art forms is something the Banbury Art Crawl strives for. 

“The committee invites artists to attend and puts out a call for artists and crafts people, and then they have to be vetted,” DeRosa said. “The committee makes sure that we don’t have 15 potters at once, so they try to balance all the different genres of art so there’s a good representation.”

DeRosa said an event like this takes a whole year’s worth of planning, and once this year’s art crawl is over, members of the committee will start looking towards the next. 

Katie Jae, a terracotta ceramic artist, said the Banbury Art Crawl was an awesome event that lets artists like her connect with the community. 

“It can be really sweet to have these moments in person with people,” Jae said. “These are really uplifting community events where I get to connect with people. I get to bring joy into the world, and they bring me joy. It’s this mutual exchange of just overall feeling good.”

Charles Kohlbeck, another Eau Claire resident, said he wanted to become more familiar with the city’s art scene and get to know the community better. Kohlbeck said he believes that open events like this can attract a wider range within the community. 

“It really just does get a lot of the people in the community together in one spot,” Kohlbeck said. “A lot of events like this can push a broader net than some of the more niche stuff. People can meet each other, and the community can know what’s going on.” 

Ariel Spanton, an oil and acrylic painter, said the art crawl is a great opportunity for artists to show off their craft and bring the community in to see their works in person. 

“It’s a nice opportunity to get more people involved in seeing art — seeing it and bringing that beauty into their life,” Spanton said. “The visceral experience of having an actual piece of art in your home and in your life is going to give you such an immense amount of pleasure.”

Jae said it is beneficial for the community to have the chance to see and experience the art in person. 

“I think it’s really important for the community to have these moments with art and creativity and connection and just humanness,” Jae said. 

Spanton said that community support for artists, and events like this, is crucial. 

“Keep art going in your community. There’s a quote that’s something like, ‘Artists are the canaries in the coal mine. When they stop singing, you’ve got to worry,’” Spanton said. “Support the arts. Hear that canary’s song that keeps something vibrant and beautiful happening in the world.”

Sherry can be reached at [email protected].