Last weekend marked another one for the books as Collingwood wrapped up its 13th annual Art Crawl – an evening where walking the downtown core might leave you with sore feet, but well worth it. The night packs in 42 official venues and countless more artists, spilling into restaurants, shops, and galleries along the way.
Downtown streets come alive with the sights and sounds of local talent, art lovers, the art-curious, and the art-perplexed – a living snapshot of Collingwood’s community. Organized by the City of Collingwood’s Arts & Culture Department coordinator Amanda Henry, the Art Crawl has become a signature event celebrating the town’s creative pulse, encouraging connection between artists and audiences who might otherwise never cross paths.
When I first heard about the Art Crawl, I was amazed. ‘Really? I can show my work next to where someone gets their financial advice?’ It was exactly that unlikely overlap – everyday life brushing up against creative expression – that first sparked my curiosity, and it’s what led me to apply as an artist.
Last year, I was so caught up preparing my own photography exhibition that I only managed to sneak away for a few minutes to visit fellow artists. This year, I made it a point to slow down, take it all in, and write about it. And if you’re an emerging artist, performer, or venue reading this, consider this your sign: apply for next year’s Crawl; you won’t regret it.
So back to my quest to write this year. Writing about art is an ever-changing landscape. Arthur C. Danto, the American philosopher and art critic, proposed in his influential 1984 essay The End of Art that “art is dead”, which doesn’t mean there’s no more art, but that the grand narrative of art’s historical development had reached a turning point in the 1960s, particularly with the rise of Pop Art (think Andy Warhol). Since then, writing about art has been, well, different.
Truthfully, this will be my first real foray into talking about art in 2025 – a moment in art that is primed to pivot toward a place where the artist and their story matter just as much as technique, style, or market value. A pivotal moment that also encourages us to challenge the ways we engage with art, which too often reward the safest, most familiar choices.
This year, I’m paying closer attention to artists whose voices feel raw, urgent, and genuinely fresh. The goal here isn’t to crown the next big thing, but to spotlight the ones quietly building momentum – those whose work deserves to be seen, supported, and maybe even collected before the rest of the world catches on.
The first artist I’m keeping an eye on this year is Anna Holod, a Ukrainian painter who has spent the past few years in Collingwood pouring her heart into her work. Her in-progress painting, unofficially titled Vogue, brought Art Alley to life with its striking colors and pop culture references. There were moments that made me feel like I’d landed in a surreal, LA-dreamscape, leaving me wondering: ‘is this calling just for me… or maybe it’s calling her too?’
This isn’t my first encounter with Anna – we spent some studio time together last year, so I can truly say her artistic voice has grown stronger and more distinctive since then.
My favorite piece of hers is Chemin vers paradis which features three stone-like figures, a flaming sun, blood-red poppies, and a swan. It’s a piece that positions her as a force in the art scene. I must admit, I’m completely captivated by the surrealist art movement, and her local revival of surrealism, where she blends expressing her rich inner world with symbolic storytelling to explore themes of grief, memory, transformation, and longing.
I was torn between letting the art speak for itself and asking her to share all the details directly – ultimatly I let the mystery prevail and walk away with my own interpretation as I am sure many others did.
Also on my radar this year is Hailey Corvari, a local artist coming in hot, literally, with hot pink and a lot to say. While scrolling through the Art Crawl website doing some early research for this year’s lineup, Hailey’s work immediately jumped out. Her bold, hot-pink, expressive figurative paintings practically leapt off the screen—radiating unapologetic feminine energy that demands attention. I immediately DM’d her on IG: “Omg, we need to connect!”
This year marked her first Art Crawl, and her paintings outside the historic Federal Building transformed an otherwise grey streetscape into a vivid, music-infused gallery. One painting nods to Billie Eilish, another to Jessie Murph – if you’re obsessed with these artists, you could almost hear the songs; if not, you might just leave her exhibit with a new playlist. Music, it seems, is both muse and medium for Hailey, whether fueling her process or inspiring the figures she brings to life on canvas.
The piece that stopped me in my tracks was Undine Rising. A feminine figure rises at the center, observed through a lens that feels almost childlike, capturing wonder and awe. Bold colors and expressive brushstrokes carry the fabric above her head like a victorious banner.
Hailey’s work sits at the intersection of figurative abstraction and pop-inspired energy – a place where expressive brushstrokes meet cultural commentary. It’s art that speaks loudly and personally, inviting each viewer to meet it on their own terms, much like the music that inspires it.
With Anna Holod and Hailey Corvari both on my radar this year, I’m excited to see where their artistic journeys will go next – the themes they’ll explore, the boldness of their voices, and the spaces their work will transform.
I’m already looking forward to next year’s Art Crawl, where more moments like these can happen, and I hope you’ll come along as I continue diving into writing about local art, culture, and the incredible artists and spaces that make this community so vibrant.
Written by Constanza Farias
