While “Fashion’s Night Out” on Sept. 8 is an international event involving dozens of cities from New York to Seoul, some Savannah artists are doing the best they can to put a local imprint on it.
Local artist Matt Hebermehl is one of several collaborating with the Creative Coast Initiative to festoon the shop windows of participating merchants on Broughton and York streets with portraits of local characters.
Hebermehl, along with artists Jamie Bowerman, James “Dr. Z.” Zdaniewski, and Creative Coast’s Jake Hodesh, are involved in the “Savannah Windows” project, which is branching out to take advantage of the Fashion’s Night Out event.
They were struck by the similarity between a shop window and a picture frame. Not exactly a profound discovery, you might say, but the difference is they acted on it. Hebermehl describes the backstory:
“The whole thing started a few months ago with me and Dr. Z doing this project for the Savannah Urban Arts Festival,” says Hebermehl. “We were going to continue painting murals around town, but sometimes when you do that there’s trouble with public domain and getting permission from certain authorities.
“It comes down to the fact that businesses can put anything they want on the inside of their windows,” he says. “So we came up with this idea of doing these printouts and actually putting them inside shop windows.”
Hebermehl says he and the rest of the Savannah Windows crew see Fashion Night Out as an extension of a larger picture.
“It’s a responsible way to fit contemporary local art into the structure we’re all living in. We want to show how to tweak what’s already here without disrupting it.”
Other artists in the Savannah Windows project include Jose Ray, Katherine Sandoz, Alex Soto, Benjamin Stanley, Kellie Walker, Kay Wolfersperger, and Troy Wandzel.
The art that will be in shop windows on Broughton and York Streets on Sept. 8 will actually hang for about a week prior at the Creative Coast headquarters, 15 W. York St.
Fashion’s Night Out
When: Thurs. Sept. 8, 6–11 p.m.
Where: Participating merchants include Banana Republic, Belk, BleuBelle Boutique + Mangled Courtesan at 24e, Bowhouse, Civvies, Copper Penny, Daydreams, E.J. Scandals at J. Parker, fab’rik, Gap, Gaucho, Half Moon Outfitters, J. Parker, James Gunn, James Hogan, Marc Jacobs, Mint, Nourish, Red Clover, Sara Jane Children’s Boutique, Satchel, Savannah Sewing Academy at Clipper Trading, Savannah Shoe Co., SeeJane, Spa Bleu, Style House, Terra Cotta, The Clothing Warehouse, The Paris Market, The Pink Door, Thee Head Above, Trunk 13, Violet Gardens at 24e, Yves Delorme, Zia.
