Art Attack Rides Downtown for Fourth Friday

It’s An Onslaught of Arts! Artists Wield Everything from Drumsticks to Tattoo Guns to Palette Knives!

Shawn Adkins gets shit done. Not content to simply run his store, Back-A-Round Records, Adkins is rebooting the Art Attack, a multi-disciplinary art event and networking opportunity for artists. This next iteration will happen all over downtown Fayetteville on Friday, May 24th, as the Fourth Friday celebrations put on by Cool Springs Downtown District.

The Art Attack started at Adkins’ former venture, the well-attended music & event center, The Rock Shop, which closed in 2017. “We did the Art Attack every week for three years,” he remembers. “Now that I’m here [on Hay St], I want to be a part of downtown.”

Adkins’ has worked with Cool Springs for years on the Zombie Walk every October, so the collaboration is well-established. And he’s been here for 28 years so when he remarks, “I want to help make Fayetteville cooler than it already is”, he knows what’s he talking about. Fourth Friday makes downtown a cool evening destination. Art Attack will have a little something for everyone: bands on a stage in front of Back-A-Round, Lacey Crime’s selfie stations from the Dogwood Festival will be back out, live dancing up and down Hay Street, spoken word and poetry artists, gallery showings, and more.

For the artists, the Art Attack is also a networking event. Having lots of different artforms represented allows artists a chance to talk to each other, maybe plan a collaboration, or simply be inspired by each other’s artwork. Adkins mused, “Hopefully there will be new friendships afterwards… they’ll go do some work together.”

Being part of Fourth Friday also means the event is designed for all ages and family friendly. Budding (or established) young artists are encouraged to attend and apply to show their skills, be they on stage or in a visual medium. With Cape Fear Music Center, Gilbert Theater, Fascinate-U Kids Museum, and Cape Fear Studios–all of which teach kids classes–within walking distance of the main traffic circle in downtown, it should be no trouble finding talented young artists to participate.

To keep up with all things Art Attack, make sure to follow them on Facebook. And mark your calendar for all Fourth Fridays: every one will be slightly different through the year. Adkins is confident that Art Attack will have some kind of on-going monthly presence after May. “If people come out to hear the performers and if the artists make some money, we’ll do more of these.” Adkins says assuredly.