In 1990, the purchase of an oil painting at the Newburyport Art on The Mall inspired the Beacon Hill Art Walk.
Jennifer Mackay, great niece of one of the first women to attend the Boston Museum School, Laura Coombs Hill, was exhibiting her oils. Judy Avery of West Cedar Street bought one and offered a show at her home. This event was so popular that many artists and friends of the arts began thinking about a spring show in our gardens. The First Annual Beacon Hill Art Walk was held in June and had fifty artists and hundreds of art lovers in attendance. The goal of the Beacon Hill Art Walk has always been to provide a venue for fine artists to sell their original work. Artists are advised to bring work to sell at a variety of prices. Many who come also make connections with gallery professionals, restaurateurs, and others who display their work. As the years went on, the numbers of artists swelled to 160. Many artists return each year and refer other artists to the event. Artists attending range from those who make their living from their art to one neighbor who priced his work in the millions as he had no interest in selling any of it. Some show a few pieces while others have large displays. We hope to continue to include more types and styles of art and encourage participation of artists from many backgrounds and disciplines.
We ask you to Spread the Word among your artist friends about this event. If they would like to participate, they can log onto beaconhillartwalk.org and download an application. Remember that this show is for artists with original work, not crafts people. Also, please spread the word about the Art Walk to the art lovers you know. We are also on the lookout for volunteers on the day of the Art Walk, and for committee members to help organize the event. Spread the word!
The Artists
The Beacon Hill Art Walk is an inclusive and expanding group of painters, sculptors, art potters and photographers.
Handicapped Access:
Many of the artists’ locations are wheelchair and stroller accessible. However, please note that the route does take you up the North Slope of the Hill, which is quite an incline.
On the Art Walk tour:
As soon as people find out that there is a little historic synagogue on Beacon Hill, they begin to learn something new. A Lithuanian Jewish immigrant congregation that called itself Anshei Vilner (the people of Vilnius), placed the cornerstone for a little synagogue at 18 Phillips Street on Beacon Hill in 1919. Once deemed an undesirable neighborhood, Jewish immigrants lived, worked and prayed throughout this neighborhood that once included the north slope of Beacon Hill and the old West End. Although the last member of the Anshei Vilner Congregation left the building in 1985, the synagogue, better known as the Vilna Shul, is full of activity again. Today the Vilna is a little different. We are Boston’s Center for Jewish Culture, a place where the history of Boston’s Jews can be shared and enjoyed by everyone and where Boston’s Jewish life thrives once again.
