Amplified Avondale Elevates with New Art Walk
On the last Friday evening of each month, the sidewalks of the Shoppes at Avondale transform into Amplified Avondale.
This monthly “micro music art festival” is a time for friends and family to unwind on a Friday night with some food and drinks and enjoy live music performed by local bands and musicians. As of this past July, attendees will also be able to enjoy the works of local artists as Amplified Avondale launched its new Art Walk.
The Amplified Avondale Art Walk provides a platform for local artists to showcase and sell their work while having the opportunity to get to know the community and vice versa. July’s soft launch featured six artists, including Cassidy Almy-Ramos, Keith Doles, Emily Tillman, Paula Jo Lentz, Christianna Louise White Fletcher and Olivia Gonzalez.
With the soft launch complete, August’s Art Walk expanded to 12 artists, including returning artists Gonzalez, Lentz and White Fletcher, with new artists Michele Lee, Teresa Cook, Sam Nelson, Priyanka Pryadarshini, Lisa Lofton, Lauren Danson, Jose Louis Alonso Jr., Erin Meyers and Katie Barber.
Lentz is also Amplified Avondale’s art director and is responsible for reviewing the submissions artists must complete for consideration in order to participate in this invite-only event.
“We had an overwhelmingly positive response from both the artists and the community that they would love to see the Art Walk flourish and they are excited to see it moving forward at each Amplified Avondale event, each month, from here on out,” she added.
August’s Amplified Avondale had three separate art activation areas: A pop-up gallery was located inside Southern Grounds & Co. coffee shop with wine and tapas. A second activation area was on the Southern Grounds covered patio, while the third one was located across the street on the sidewalk between Josephine and The Brick, which featured a DJ and wine tasting.
“This is a unique, art-centric event where both the artists and the attendees recognize that this is the place where people can meet to enjoy fine art and to purchase if they so choose, as this is centered around the arts,” Lentz added.
Amplified Avondale Co-founder Zach Piester said the opportunity to showcase artists and musicians in a monthly event that focuses on community is “huge.”
“It’s really important for us to be able to create and foster this sense of inclusion, and there’s no better way to do that than through music, art and food,” he said. “We’re really fortunate to have the backdrop of Historic Avondale and have the support of the Historic Avondale Merchants Association and the merchants that allow us to kind of take over their businesses and the sidewalks and bring a couple thousand people out to each of our events on Fridays.”
Elevating the Amplified Avondale experience further is the recent addition of Josephine’s after-party event. Josephine announced the launch of the “Lounge Series at Josephine,” a “listening room” ticketed event featuring a two-hour session of live music beginning at 9 p.m.
An Instagram post by Josephine announcing the series stated, in part, “So much of what we are is based on our travels and music is oftentimes at the center of those travels. Those intimate little spots where you escape to a different time or different place…This is an adventure you won’t have to travel far for and we can’t wait to have you.”
Amplified Avondale is held on the last Friday of every month at the Shoppes of Avondale on Saint Johns Avenue from 6-9 p.m.
By Michele Leivas
Resident Community News
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