HUDSON ARTSWALK’S JURIED ART SHOW AND
EAT FOR ART DINNER AT THE CANNONBALL FACTORY

The Columbia County Council on the Arts 13th annual ArtsWalk, an 11-day festival of visual and performing arts, takes place throughout the small City of Hudson September 28 to October 8.  Most events are free.  For calendar and information, visit www.artscolumbia.org, phone 518 671 6213, or email info@artscolumbia.org.

ArtsWalk evolves every year.  Joining the imposing brick former Pocketbook Factory as site for art will be the 30,000 square foot former Cannonball Factory.  For the first time, the CCCA is organizing three types of shows distributed between the two magical buildings: the Members Open Show, the Juried Art Show, and a series of Curated Shows – themed shows chosen by area artists and curators.  The Cannonball Factory will be the site of the first ArtsWalk Juried Art Show as well as CCCA’s third annual Eat for Art benefit dinner, Friday, September 28

Chris Gilbert, owner and developer of the Cannonball Factory, has donated the use of his entire building for ArtsWalk, stepping up the construction schedule to make the building ready.  The ground floor space will also house children’s activities on both weekends of ArtsWalk.

Built in the mid-1800s, the 30,000 square foot Cannonball factory is located near the intersection of Columbia Street (once Diamond Street) and 4th. During the Civil War period, it was used as a foundry and munitions factory, making cannonballs. In 1885, the building suffered a devastating fire and was rebuilt as a millwork factory. The factory employed as many as 60 people, making windows and doors for the postwar construction boom. As the wealth of the city rose and fell, the building went through many owners.  Most recently it was a warehouse for Griffin Plumbing and Heating. With the dissolution of the Griffin Company decades ago, the building was abandoned and collapsing. Today, the addition of a new seam metal roof, structural timbers and brickwork and dozens of new windows, including the rare rooftop clerestory windows with their stunning views of Hudson and the Hudson Valley, have halted the building's decline.  

Mr. Gilbert is a designer-builder who has constructed custom houses and commercial buildings in the area for 20 years. He also buys and renovates historic buildings, such as The Chocolate Factory in Red Hook. Originally the home of Baker's Chocolate, the 70,000 square foot brick factory building is now home to over 30 different tenants, from florists to schools to art galleries.
Chris’ intentions for the Cannonball Factory are to reconstruct the first and second floors as space for commercial tenants, with 6 duplex apartments on the upper two elevator-accessible floors. Commercial and residential spaces will be detailed to tenants' needs. The atmospheric stone basement suggests a perfect club, restaurant or music venue. The project is expected to take two years, with the first tenants occupying parts of the building this fall.

ArtsWalk 2007 kicks off Friday evening, September 28, with its third annual benefit dinner, Eat For Art, catered by Georgia Ray’s Kitchen, that promotes the sales of CCCA artist members’ work.  Guests will gather at the Cannonball Factory for cocktails and dinner, preview the Juried Show, have a chance to buy the art on display, and bid on 20 wood framed 18” x 20” mirrors from Architiques, uniquely decorated by local artists, each chosen by a different gallery in Hudson and Columbia County. The artists are Kim Bach, Anna Cinquemani, Jean Crane Strausman, Joan Damiani, Fronz, Maj Kalfus, Peter Kaplan, Lisa Krivacka, Azouke Legba, Larry Marshall, Suzi Matthews, Chelle Mayer, David Montgomery, Lee Musselman, Dale Payson, Ken Polinskie, Nancy Rutter, Valerie Shaff, Jean Stoler, and Peter Superti.  Artist Suzi Matthews is donating a series of small 6” x 6” numeralism paintings as table centerpieces, which will also be for sale. Auctioneer Rebecca Hoffmann of Stair Galleries in Hudson will conduct the auction. This is the first preview of ArtsWalk.  The Members Open Show and 10-plus Curated Shows open at the equally spacious and awesome Pocketbook Factory on Saturday September 29.  The popular Opening Night Party and Artists Reception begins at 5:30 that evening.  Art displays in the windows and the interiors of shops and restaurants on Hudson’s Warren Street and side streets will be featured over the 10 day period of ArtsWalk.

The Members’ Juried Show is a new element to ArtsWalk. CCCA artist members were invited to submit artwork in response to the question "Why am I here?" Artists entered painting, sculpture, fiber arts, photography, drawing, engraving, video or installation for the jury's consideration, along with an Artist Statement.  Over 50 artists submitted their work, and 200-plus pieces were considered by the jury, consisting of Claude Carone, Marianne Courville, Steven Evans, Frank Faulkner and Bart Gulley. The 26 artists selected are Fern T. Apfel, Michel Arnaud, Linda Arnaud, Arlene Becker, Carla Berger, Dawn Breeze, Patricia Decker, Tim Ebneth, Mimi Czajka Graminski, Patrick Harbron, Katarina Holbrook-Gerkman, Linda Horn, Susan Katz, Dan Marcus, Suzi Matthews, Victor Milin, Jack Millard, Luanne Morse, Joshua Pelletier, Diane Morris Reuter, Trudi Roth, Valerie Schaff, Dorothy Napp Schindel, M. Scott Schaffernoth, Dee Ann Veeder, and Chad Weckler. The 50 selected works, representing painting, mixed media, sculpture, and photography, will be exhibited from September 28 through Columbus Day, October 8, 11 AM to 5 PM, closed Tuesday & Wednesday October 2 & 3.

The CCCA - and ArtsWalk - received funding for this program from the Cultural Tourism Initiative, a project of the Arts & Business Council of New York and the New York State Council on the Arts, and other public funds directly from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency.  Funding was also received from Columbia County Tourism Department, the Columbia Hudson Partnership, Hudson Development Corporation, and Nancy and Kelly Marx.  (The complete list of donors and sponsors is in formation.)

The Mission of Columbia County Council on the Arts is to produce programs that advance the arts and engage our county’s residents and visitors; provide services that support our county’s cultural organizations’, artists’ and residents’ participation in the arts; and build collaborative partnerships within the county and beyond.  Information may be obtained by visiting CCCA at 209 Warren Street in Hudson, phoning 518 671 6213, emailing info@artscolumbia.org, or visiting www.artscolumbia.org.

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