PRINCETON: Strollers find art at their call

ArtWalk offers visits to Princeton arts venues

By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
   From a table at Small World Coffee, artist Maxine Shore sat down Thursday night with her copy of the New Yorker and something to drink.
   On the wall behind her, hung one of Ms. Shore’s oil paintings — a scene from the Lower East Side of Manhattan — that was part of a three-hour tour of the area art scene.
   Venues also included the Princeton University Art Museum, the Historical Society of Princeton and others that took part in Princeton ArtWalk, a free event that gives the public a chance to sample local artists and the great masters. The concept blends art with a walking tour, so people can see what they want where they want all within walking distance.
   ArtWalk started a year ago, said Jeff Nathanson, executive director of the Arts Council of Princeton, from his office at the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts on Witherspoon Street. Once each quarter, local museums and other venues open their doors.
   ”It’s about art, but it’s really about building community,” he said.
   Concepts like these are not new. Mr. Nathanson, a San Francisco native, said his home city has an art stroll every month called First Thursday. In Princeton, ArtWalk is also always on Thursdays. Though Princeton has rich cultural offerings, there is little gallery space for artists to display their work. That’s where places like Small World Coffee come in.
   The coffee shop and its sister store on Nassau Street combine to have 24 art shows a year, said owner Jessica Durrie.
   Ms. Shore, a resident of East Windsor, is a retired art teacher who worked in the Princeton public school system until retiring four years ago. The coffee shop is exhibiting about three dozen of her pieces, with an opening on Friday.