The Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center’s (SOMACC) final art walk of 2023 is scheduled Oct. 14 on the Roy Rogers Esplanade at the corner of Gallia and Chillicothe Streets in downtown Portsmouth. The monthly event is designed to support local artists, providing a space to display and sell their art from 1 to 5 p.m. the second Saturday of each month, May through October.
SOMACC’s art walk aims to support local businesses, singers, writers, artists and many more different types of creatives. Participating art vendors like Mystee Rucker, who owns Mystee Makes Stuff, enjoy the support from their community and the museum.
“Well, they just care about the small artists,” Rucker said at the September art walk. “Small town, small artists. I, like, the setup is free here, they’re just trying to grow it into something bigger, and I don’t know, I just think that’s awesome.”
SOMACC has been trying to bring more people to Chillicothe Street with the event. Klaire Smith, the artist behind Boneyfiddle Press and another vendor at the September art walk, said the museum’s effort has an impact on the community’s quality of life.
“I think that local artists are extremely important to any community,” she said. “I think they add a certain level of discourse, like a certain type of discourse that may not happen otherwise, and just being able to add beauty to the area,” she said.
