Vallejo has enjoyed its own downtown art walk since February. It runs every second Friday of the month, rain or shine.

The art walk was begun, and continues to be run, by area artists. And they’re doing it without the help of the city.

“A lot of people wanted to wait,” founder and artist Sean Murdock said. “(People were saying), ‘It’s not going to work if you don’t build it up, and the city has to be asked first.’ We had a lot of naysayers.

“But I don’t listen to naysayers. I’ve been self-employed since I was 15 years old, and I have lived as an artist my whole life … and everyone always says, ‘That’s not possible.’”

Murdock admits he probably should have worked with the city of Vallejo when he first conceived the idea of an art walk, “I just kind of went ahead and did it. We haven’t had a problem with the city,” he said.

Vallejo Art Walk is modeled after Oakland Art Murmur. “They had one street, and that one street was 23rd and Telegraph for a while. One day they said, ‘No more artists setting up on 23rd, it’s bothering the galleries’ … I got the message: ‘You guys aren’t wanted there anymore,’” Murdock said.

“So we went out and set up in the middle of the road in Oakland, on the sidewalks. I got the idea from that because it took off so quickly and became First Friday. There was no permission or anything, they just went into the streets. It was really cool.”

No cops came, he said, and “The city welcomed it. Even the mayor set up a table, giving out information about her candidacy.”

Oakland’s example in mind, Murdock worked to make Vallejo Art Walk “of the people.”

“The artists run it, no one is in charge of it, no one has any say in it,” he said.

Murdock also ignored the naysayers when he set the opening date for Feb. 14. “They said, ‘No! It’s going to bomb! It’s Valentine’s Day.’ It was amazing,” he said.

From there the event has only increased in popularity. “It’s really kind of a citywide event downtown,” Murdock said. “Especially centered on the downtown. But we’re trying to get as far as we can spread.” But not too quickly, he added, because the artists want to keep the event walkable.

Murdock takes care of the promotion for the event, likening his role to a mall. “I can bring people to the mall, and that’s what I do, I bring them into the downtown. Then everyone has to do their own work … of promoting and getting the event out, of getting people into their own individual store,” he said.

“I like seeing the artists doing their labor, because it’s a lot of work to live as an artist. You have got to want it. This will eventually rise the strong to the top, and the strong will come up and become those new galleries and those people who will make it.”

Vallejo Art Walk is designed to be year-round, rain or shine. There is no cost for artists to set up on the street; if they want to set up indoors they must contact one of the participating locations.

“Approaching a gallery is a scary thing for an artist,” Murdock said. “This is a good way to say, ‘Hey, can I be in your gallery?’ It’s a good way for teaching a younger artist to approach a gallery, and gives them an event-based day which makes it easier to get in to a gallery.”

The Hub Vallejo, an arts and entertainment spot Murdock helped found, has tables available to artists for a nominal fee.

“We let people set up for a few bucks, I think it’s like ten dollars. That gives them a table and lighting, and heat or air conditioning,” he said.

“The Hub is awesome. I’m coming from Miami, so I’m not putting a grain of salt on that. This is a place if I opened it in Miami it would be just as cool.”

If You Go
The Vallejo Art Walk takes place 5-10 p.m. every second Friday, rain or shine, in Vallejo’s downtown area. For information and a map of participating galleries and businesses, visit vallejoartwalk.com.