A bazaar of artistic furry was on display at the Coronado
Art Walk between September 13th and 14th. The event was
hosted by the Coronado Historical Association that supports community
creativity and encourages a healthy respect for the arts as a whole. The
Coronado Ferry Landing and San Diego Bay provided a perfect backdrop for the exhibition
of artistic expressions. Paintings,
stone work, sculptors, weaving, glass blowing, and other handcrafted products
were available for ponder or purchase.
Visitors strolled through the corridor, by the fountain,
beyond the stage and all the way over to the landing to see the creations of local
talent. Individual booths lined both sides of the walkway along the landing’s
business community. Visitors flocked to the area with transit hurriedly dropping
off families, visitors, and students in droves. The event was a success despite
the record breaking heat. 
Fine art is an expressive activity that fits snuggly within
the historic Coronado community and helps support the value and charm of the
island. Fine art was formally defined in the 18th Century and has a
distinctive place in supporting capitalistic societies (Clowney, 2011). The
definition of art is traditionally associated with poetry, music, sculptures,
painting and theater. 
Art is not always restricted by traditional boundaries. As
automation and mass production took hold small artisan craftsman closed their
businesses because they failed to compete with larger producers. In today’s
world, hand crafted artistic works in clocks, tile design, and jewelry are
developing their own lucrative niches and customers where large produces can’t
compete.
Events like the Coronado Art Walk offer and opportunity for
these artists to show and sell their talent in a commercial way. Local
businesses reap the spill over benefits of increased visitors and Coronado
neighborhoods maintain their charm with family oriented events within walking
distance.
Contrary to popular belief small artists are not the first
to suffer from a poor economy and are regularly overlooked for their economic
contributions. A case example in Brattleboro Vermont showed that the artist
community was barely impacted by the recession and maintained the equivalent of
200 full time jobs while other industries declined (Burke, 2010).
Artists are part expressive and part capitalists in the
sense that they seek to find a healthy balance between creating new forms and
works that are uniquely theirs while supporting themselves through their work.
Encouraging the arts is about exposing the artists to a community that helps
each other find ways to create a viable industry. The Coronado Art Walk is one
example of that community in action.
Burke, M. (2010). The creative economy, public policy, and
development community. Communities &
Banking, 21 (4).
Clowney, D. (2011). Definitions of art and fine art’s
historical origins. Journal of Aesthetics
& Art Criticism, 69 (3).
