By Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER EAST SIDE — Some of Manhattan's most prestigious art galleries will be free and open to the public Saturday in an effort to get culture vultures flocking to Madison Avenue.
The third annual Madison Avenue Gallery Walk, which this year takes participants on a tour of 57 galleries, lets participants meet the curators, owners and artists as they speak about their works on exhibition.
Gallery owners on what, historically, was one of the most famous cultural stretches in the world, hope that the walk will help bring back art lovers, along with newbies.
"It used to be that Madison Avenue was the place that people would stroll on a Saturday, but now it’s Chelsea," said Sarah Murkett, director of Armand Bartos Fine Art, located on 73rd Street, just off Madison Avenue.
"I would love if people would return to Madison Avenue to stroll on Saturdays and I think the Gallery Walk is a great way to remind people and show them that Madison Avenue has a strong art community."
The walk also has a philanthropic cause. Galleries donated money to participate in the walk, and the proceeds will benefit the Fund for Public Schools to support arts education in New York City schools.
The idea for the event, which is organized by the Madison Avenue Business Improvement District, started with the gallery owners themselves, said Matthew Bauer, president of Madison Avenue BID.
"The galleries wanted to do more to promote arts education in the schools, they wanted to work together to reintroduce themselves to the community, and we at Madison Avenue BID thought this was a very good and very public way to do so," Bauer said. "And, of course, it's for a great cause."
Free hourly tours of the galleries will also be available and will be led by art faculty from city public schools.
Andy Monk of Praxis International Art sees these tours as being helpful for those with less exposure to art.
"In a lot of ways, the Gallery Walk makes galleries a lot less intimidating," Monk said. "Being on a tour with a knowledgeable guide makes the art become more digestible."
The Madison Avenue Gallery Walk will take place on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be two information centers located at the Fuller Building on 57th Street and Arader Galleries on 78th Street.
