#matt jelly

[doubleuohoh]

Pleased to see life back in the old "Leon Furs" building on James St North. Welcome "Store" located at 129 James St N, Hamilton, ON. Culture gifts such as books, sculptures and other knick knacks sold here. Kudos to Matt Jelly for the branding! 

[asseenontelevision-blog]

Nothing is Crawling at Art Crawl

After years of hearing mixed reviews and subscribing to the view that the Art Crawl on James North was a good idea but likely over-hyped, my husband and I decided on a whim to check it out. 

We were shocked.

Art Crawl is many things, but it's not crawling. Art Frenetic is more apt. 

From King William to Barton the air was almost charged - the side walks were packed, the bars wall-to-wall and if I didn't know better I would swear I was in Montreal. I confess the street vibe and random political debates we got into with TV viewers were so seductive I never looked at the art. It was impossible not to marvel at the mad mix - street fights by drug dealers, young families with ice cream cones, cops watching warily from dark alleys, art lovers reading in bars, and people like us drinking it all in. 

My husband remarked it was like a Take Back the Night event. When I tweeted out my surprise at the scene unfolding in front of me the owner of Mixed Media on James North replied that Art Crawl is all about the culture clash. 

Then up swooped the venerable Matt Jelly in his full length cape and not only showed us some awesome after hours art crawl action, he explained the organic history of the event. 

So simple. So interesting. So Hamilton. 

So get ready for Supercrawl in the fall - and see if you can keep up with the pace of change in Hamilton.