MWPAI Arts Festival Underway In Utica

Utica, NY (WIBX) - There's a festive atmosphere in front of Munson Williams Proctor Arts Institute in Utica. And that means the Arts Festival is officially underway, featuring an array of art works from local talents.

Paintings, sculptures, and photographic art works decorate the walls in front of the Institute. Zach Lewis is one of the featured Artists. He says the inspiration for his photo came after a visit to Rochester. He said, "I was in Rochester and there's a bridge, and somebody spray painted "No Draft" on the bridge. I'm assuming it was probably around the 60s or the 70s. Underneath the bridge, somebody spray painted "Peace" with a peace sign, so I took a picture of that--one of my first pictures I ever took and it got accepted into the Art Show and I'm very excited about it." The black and white photo is featured alongside other great works of art in the festival.

Zach who works for one of our sister stations, Big Frog 104 FM, maintains a weekly blog titled: Zach's Weekly Snaps. He says after taking high school and college art course, he decided to try his hand at photography professionally. He now travels to different locations in and around the Utica area taking photos of historic and other unique aspects of the region. He says the MWPAI Arts Festival is an opportunity to highlight some of the talented people in the community. "It's really an asset to the community and I think it's a great thing, everyone should come out to see all the talent that we have here, and the great art work that we have as well ... Utica is a great place and this event shows that we have a lot to offer as a community as well," he said.

In addition to the art works, the event also features performances, live music and a classic car and motorcycle show. The Festival runs through July 4th from 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. daily. Click here for all the details about the event.