Art lover Ben Glatzer and his family moved to Gifford Lane in 2016, unaware that each March a two-block stretch of this leafy, residential neighborhood in Center Grove transforms into a bustling street festival with local art, handmade crafts, live music, and food.
“[We] discovered that we were literally the nexus of this incredible community that put on an art stroll for a couple of decades,” Glatzer says.
That nexus – in the form of the 27th annual Gifford Lane Art Stroll – will take place this Sunday, March 2, from noon to 5:00 p.m.
For neighbors who run the annual event, the Gifford Lane Art Stroll is more than just a good time. It’s a community anchor. And for Coconut Grove artists, it’s a more affordable and accessible alternative to the far-larger Coconut Grove Arts Festival (CGAF).
CGAF charges artists an average of $850 to set up their booths. Gifford Lane Art Stroll charges $60. And while CGAF caters largely to non-Grove artists (only one of 285 artists selected for the show this year lives in the Grove) many artists who participate in the much smaller Art Stroll are either current or former Grove residents and live within walking distance.
Another key difference is the price for visitors: CGAF charges $35 for admission ($25 for Grove residents). The Art Stroll is free.
The event is entirely a grassroots operation. Gifford Lane residents plan, promote, handle logistics, and manage set up and breakdown.
Even Glatzer’s elementary-school-aged daughters are on a committee, hopping on their scooters to direct the artists where to set up their tables or tents. This year’s event will feature 63 artists.
“You hear banter and laughter, thousands of pedestrians celebrating community,” Glatzer says wistfully, recalling the smell of smoked barbecue, fried conch, arepas, and famous key lime pies. “You have beautiful Coconut Grove spring weather. I would say the atmosphere is… like a G-rated Bourbon Street.”
Painter and Gifford Lane resident Trina Collins is one of the founding artists, one of only two left in the area. Many others have moved or passed away, including Collins’ late husband David who was the first executive director of the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District (BID).
Gifford Lane’s artistic roots run deep. When Collins moved here nearly 30 years ago, several jazz musicians, a sculptor, a painter, and a photographer all lived on the block.
“So we said, well, let’s have an art show!” Collins laughs. “We never pictured this was going to be an investment for the next 10 or 20 years. It surprised us all. It became very popular because it’s like old Grove culture… In the end, people are dancing in the street.”
Artist Eileen Seitz has lived in the Grove near Gifford Lane for 43 years and remembers the early days of the Art Stroll. She sells her boldly colorful paintings, featuring the natural beauty of the tropics, for affordable prices: $4 for cards and $35 and $70 for larger pieces.
Years ago, she also regularly showed at the Coconut Grove Arts Festival.
“The Grove [Arts Festival] show changed,” she says. “They became very corporate, and they became very isolated. The Grove artists got pushed away. They put the fences up. And you had to pay to get in.”
Recently, with the guidance of new CGAF leadership, she applied for and was juried in for 2023. But in the years between, she embraced selling her work at more locally focused fairs like the South Miami Rotary Art Festival, St. Stephen’s Art and Craft Show, Beaux Art Festival, and Gifford Lane Art Stroll.
“I’m just filled with joy,” Seitz says of attending the Gifford Lane Art Stroll. “It’s so much fun. Everyone comes, everyone brings their dogs, it’s a gathering. I wish we could do it twice a year.”
For Glatzer the Gifford Lane Art Stroll is a complement to the Coconut Grove Art Festival, not a competitor. While the CGAF has grown intentionally, he observes, the stroll is intentional about not growing.
“The residents, the artists, the community love it the way it is,” he says.
“The artists have complete freedom,” Collins says. “People celebrate each other and celebrate being here in a friendly open society of many races and many different types of people. And that’s kind of what Miami is, a blend of culture and art together.”
The event’s low-key vibe and anything-goes ethos has left it with no shortage of artists eager to show their work. Collins says the limited showing spots are reserved months in advance and they always have a waiting list.
Proceeds from tables and the event’s signature cucumber punch ($3 a cup) cover permitting and other expenses, which are kept barebones through the street’s legion of volunteers. Anything left over is donated to the Coconut Grove Crisis Food Pantry and St. Alban’s Child Enrichment Center. Last year’s event organizer donated over $9,000 to charities.
“Gifford Lane is a microcosm of Coconut Grove,” Glatzer says. “You have people who have been here for a very long time, and you have young families who come from outside and really feel like Coconut Grove is where they belong…. It bridges the gap between the two beautifully. It really honors the traditions of Coconut Grove and favors the arts. It’s an incredible privilege to live on the street.”
Event Details: The Gifford Lane Art Stroll takes place on Gifford Lane between Oak and Day Avenues on Sunday, March 2 from 12 noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Bike Coconut Grove will offer free bike valet parking at the Oak Avenue entrance.
