Most cities in the country with a vibrant art scene have some sort of monthly arts night out. Whether it be called Gallery Night, Art Walk, Arts in Motion, or what not, they each serve a purpose of uniting the city's art scene. This Friday Madison will finally join those cities with a monthly Arts Crawl.

Anyone who would argue that Madison is too small of a city to host a monthly arts night out need only look to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. That city of less than 65,000 - a quarter the size of Madison - has been hosting a successful Gallery Walk even through the coldest of months. This month nearly 60 businesses and galleries are opening their doors for arts sake. In addition, the Gallery Walk in Oshkosh has become so successful that local music venues have begun opening their doors earlier to coincide with the monthly event. A wide swath of generations can be seen out perusing the works - families, college students, teens, retirees, and more.

Oshkosh, the home of UW-O, has one big thing in common with Madison - the city knows how to crawl. They honed those skills doing it from bar to bar and now apply those skills by taking in art. A monthly event can only benefit everyone, including the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. The MMoCA is not a direct participant in Arts Walk, but they do host their First Friday's event on the same night that the Arts Walk will be happening.

Traditionally First Friday's end at 8 p.m. leaving art fans unsure where to go. With an Arts Walk ending at 10 p.m. they can turn their desire for more visual stimuli to some of our local galleries. Within a stones throw of MMoCA are two Arts Crawl participants the Fanny Garver Gallery and the State Street Gallery.

Not being a traditional "open studio" night or specifically a "gallery night" the Arts Crawl allows non-traditional arts spaces such as coffeehouses and bars to open their doors and join in the cultural night.

Besides the two galleries mentioned above, other Arts Crawl venues include Lakeside Studio Gallery, Cafe Montmartre, Eascape Jave Joint, Mother Fool's Coffeehouse, Studio Paran, Absolutely Art, and the Brink Lounge. The Brink will serve as the gathering space after the Crawl where art fans can meet the artists, exchange thoughts on the event, and take in dueling pianos. More information is available at Contessa Says...

I should probably mention that I'm on the Board of Directors for the non-profit that is organizing this month's Madison Arts Crawl, the Foundation of Retaining Creative Energy, a.k.a. FoRCE.