Merced to jump into first Art Hop of year

Merced Art Hop will team with Dignity Health this time around, giving the quarterly art celebration a “Human Kindness” theme.

The event that celebrates painting, music, fashion and any other form of expression is from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, in downtown Merced. Twenty-six businesses on and around Main Street will host more than 35 artists.

Kevin Hammon, the co-creator of Art Hop, said the artists were asked to incorporate the theme into their work if possible. The theme comes from the “Hello human kindness” slogan used by Dignity Health, the parent company of Mercy Medical Center in Merced.

“We’re trying to use (Art Hop) to promote bigger causes in the community,” he said.

In Bob Hart Square, organizers plan a couple of participatory art projects. People can decorate heart-shaped cards, which will be given to patients at the hospital. Hop-goers also can decorate a tree-shaped stand, which the hospital plans to display in its lobby.

If rain comes Saturday, Hammon said, the participatory projects will move to the covered walkway in the 500 block of Main Street, next to the Merced County District Attorney Office.

Late last year, Art Hop found an official home when it set up its gallery on Canal Street, between Main and 18th streets. The building has been dubbed Art Hop’s Epekel Gallery.

Artists from California State University, Stanislaus, will again show in the gallery. A few downtown businesses are also new to Art Hop.

“We’re always happy to get the new businesses coming into the downtown,” Hammon said.

Art Hop organizers raise funds year-round to pay for the event – free to all hop-goers – that draws thousands of people downtown. The event celebrates self-expression through art, dance, music and more, but it also introduces its visitors to shops they may not otherwise see.

The artist of the quarter is a grandmother-grandson team of Darlene Adams and Jonathan Mondragon. The two have shown their work at past events, when they challenge observers to match them to the pieces on display.

Live musical performances are expected from guitarist Twila Grace, DKP Entertainment’s DJ, Funkastolics and others.

A scavenger hunt is planned, as well as projects to create wooden peg people and papier-mâché birdhouses.

For more, go to mercedarthop.org.

This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Merced to jump into first Art Hop of year."