ABOUT THE GALLERY HOP

The Gallery Hop began 17 years ago on Hibbing's Howard Street when coordinators Eloise Cook and John Michael Cook were involved in the planning of the 100 year centennial celebration for City of Hibbing. They began the gallery hop as part of the Centennial celebration of Hibbing in 1993 but decided to continue the event as an annual cultural event for the city of Hibbing. 17 years later they are still putting on the Gallery Hop simply because they recognized the local talent and felt the area's artists were under-represented. There are a lot more artists than anyone may realize in any given community, but Hibbing especially, really holds immense creative potential in the region's cities. While other communities have a greater number of galleries and better artistic representation, Hibbing is the only city in the area that has had a Gallery Hop with community-wide support for 17 consecutive years.

The Gallery Hop is attended by over 500 people in the one day event with more than 55 artists displaying works in 21 businesses that convert into a gallery just for the day's event. The artwork featured ranges from Fine Art oils, watercolors, sculpture, pottery, jewelry, 3-D art, literary art, and found-art creations. The event has grown consecutively every year and owes its success to the community for its support. Residents across the northland come to Hibbing each year to stroll Howard Street together on Gallery Hop day. The afternoon spent in the community of Hibbing offers culture, art, music and appreciation for the efforts of the artists' and musicians' prior 12 months of artistic efforts.

Each artist admittedly strives to improve their art year after year as a result of the event. The stores that convert their space into a gallery for a day are pleased to make the accomodations and even stay open late! The area's artistic community, citizens, and event coordinators are sincerely appreciative of the support shown at the annual Gallery Hop on Hibbing's Howard Street.