On Friday, April 1^st Heritage Square was buzzing with activity as people gathered for First Friday ArtWalk on a gorgeous spring evening. Over 400 people participated in the public vote for the Through My Eyes: Diversity in My Community Art Contest. ShiftFLG was serving an endless line of hungry patrons with a special menu in celebration of their 6-year anniversary. Crowds gathered to watch performances by the winner of the Coconinoc Center for the Arts’ inaugural Battle of the Band the Northland Preparatory Academy Jazz Band and other local bands.

Creative Flagstaff and the Downtown Business Alliance set up an information booth to pass out ArtWalk maps and guide visitors on the various activities. Using the ArtWalk map, locals and visitors made their way around downtown to view new exhibitions, artworks, poetry readings, live music, and more. Each month’s ArtWalk map can be found on the ArtWalkFLG website here.

The Through My Eyes: Diversity in My Community Art Contest featured 13 artworks from local youth from ages 5 to 18. The public was invited to vote for their favorite artwork in four categories: K-3^rd grade, 4^th-5^th grade, 6-8^th grade, and 9-12^th grade. The winners are listed below.

• K-3^rd grade:
  • 1^st place: Athena Smith
  • 2^nd place: Millicent Schafer
  • 3^rd place: Olivia Norman
• 4^th-5^th grade:
  • 1^st place: Nina Terriquez
  • 2^nd place: Imala Chaudhry
  • 3^rd place: Holland Jacobs
• 6^th-8^th grade:
  • 1^st place: Elodie Salberg
  • 2^nd place: Nikki Boucher
  • 3^rd place: Matthew Broadbent
• 9^th-12^th grade:
  • 1^st place: Justine Sloan

See all the contest artwork here.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee, the Downtown Business Alliance, and Creative Flagstaff to help celebrate April as Fair Housing Month. Thank you to all involved who helped to make this such a successful event!

Join us in Heritage Square for First Friday ArtWalk this Summer and Fall for more great arts, science, and culture activities.