To Organize an Art Walk…
THE PEOPLE ASPECT
Four times a year, Art Walk requires about 150 staff hours, and 5+ categories of participants with whom we communicate:
up to 50 hosts
50 + guest artists
5,000+ visitors (2024 season est)
volunteers
sponsors
THE TIMING ASPECT
Each season, there are roughly five phases of coordination/promotion:
fundraising /grants
registration
participant placement & visual data
week of tasks/volunteers & deliveries
prizes, thank you’s, and surveys
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
We want to listen and pivot for YOU
Here’s what we tried in 2024 (try again?)
and what has been suggested for 2025:
organizing / placing food trucks
organizing / placing musicians
red-carpet photo ops
(setup / takedown vs. engagement #’s)search + find (fairy doors)
downtown prizes
record your steps challenge
dedicated event photographer
better awareness of Trolley shuttle
reduce participation fees
less often, or add a December event
less magnet events at same time
greater BID + City partnerships
crack down on ‘non-paying participants’
permitting 7-10 blocks of downtown w. crossing guards, trash service and port-a-johns at every intersection
We would love to visit you in person, but can’t manage it for each of the 50-ish participants each season, so please…
fill out a survey or
directly contact with us:
- email anytime
- realtime: call or visit
11 - 5p WED - SAT
**Note: please do not use soc. media DMs for communication to us: it is impossible to keep track of… (but we’ll send nudges/reminders that way)
PROGRAM AIMS
Overall goals in a nutshell:
+ added by Omerta Arts leadership 2024
+ planned 2025 introduction
showcase Helena’s artists well!!
+ dedicated soc. media visuals +
+ visitor incentives, lasting directory
+ online map photos for tierattract TONS of visitors to downtown
+ radio advertisements
+ dedicated soc. media strategy
+ incentive programs (incl. kids!)
+ newspaper & poster ads
+ expand reach beyond Helena
+ collect data and report # visitors
+ ‘how to collect art’ campaignfocus on getting visitors INSIDE the businesses / circulate traffic beyond 4 central blocks
+ hired a trolley shuttle!
+ 3 incentive programs w. prizes
+ increase shuttle stops / sponsorshipclear, timely communication from an organized single-source:
+ full year dates announced
+ dedicated website
+ timely emails, reminders
+ signage / map improvement
+ support response times
+ increased in-store signage/flags
+ increased ease of registration
+ dedicated email account
+ create advisory councilpartnerships & ‘in-kind’ donations
+ established solely for Art Walks
+ tried to manage food trucks and
musicians (…)
+ BIG advertising grant from the
Department of Commerce - YAY!
+ clarity of Omerta’s + BID’s role
+ aim to gather more sponsorships
Art Walk Task Timeline (each season)
Task Timeline
8 - 6 weeks prior:
graphic / web updates (8-18 hrs)
pre-advertising to artists + hosts (12 hrs)
contracts solidified w. partners (3 hrs)
4 weeks prior:
info management & customer service (12 hrs)
advertising implementation begins (15 hrs)
2 weeks prior:
online ad. schedule heightens (30 hrs)
customer service ramps up, + pairings (18 hrs)
volunteer coordination (6 hrs)
online & printed map (10 hrs)
2 days prior & day of:
printer, signage delivery, volunteers (6 hrs)
all the last minute customer service (6 hrs)
following week:
visitor incentive program & prizes (6-8 hrs)
‘thank-you’s’ & surveys (6 hrs)
fiscal reporting (3-6 hrs)
Task Details — Hour by Hour
-
~ 25-30 hrs.
- Intake Forms & Data (9 total)
- Website info updates for:
- landing page
- further description pages (2)
- products / purchases (9)
- sponsorship/behind scenes
- visitor incentives
- directory updates
- thank you’s / sponsors- Google Map of participants
- last minute arrangements -
For Web & Print:
- posters (~ 4 hrs)
- sticker (~ 2 hrs)
- laminate signs (~ 2 hrs)
- seasonal banners for web (~ 2 hrs)
- seasonal logo for social (~ 1 hr)
- signage for Trolley + stops (~ 2 hrs)
- signage for Fairy Doors (~ 2 hrs)
- signage for other incentives (2-6 hrs)
- Printed Map ( ~12+ hrs)
- 100 names + stamp game
- flag graphic, printing & assembly
(annually) (~ 20 hrs)
- detailed comparison charts (~ 5
- sponsorship graphics : -
transparency of costs
(annually) (~ 8 hrs) -
40 hours each season:
- Reminder Emails to: (~ 10-15 hrs)
- Artists 3x
- Organizations
- Hosts (3 versions)
- Volunteers (2x)
- Sponsors (3x)
- Inquiries / Q.+A. Responses ( ~ 10-20 hrs)- Notification of Artists + Host pairing with info for each (~ 7 hrs)
- Week-of email to all (~1 hr)
- Thank you emails to all (~1hr)
- Post Event Survey to Hosts (~1hr)- Post Event Survey to Artists (~1hr)
- Constantly update Master Spreadsheet after each email exchange (~5 hrs) -
~ 20-40 hours:
- Hiring + onbaording, Volunteer Training (ongoing) & Contracts- Billing & Finance Reports
- Master Spreadsheet updates
- Coordination of all departments:
- soc media, graphic & web design
- email/phone Support
- volunteers- Grant Writing
- Major Sponsor relationship building
- Finance Tracking
- Radio Station / Newspaper liaison
+ Business & Artist Liaison: In-person visits, email, and calls — for data synthesis and strategy
- check in to listen, educate, and gain feedback + take notes- update master spreadsheet
- pair up guests with hosts, & last minute changes
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~ 40 hours of work each season:
- schedule creation &
implementation using META
- 50-70 posts per art-walk
- light graphic design work
- sensitive to support of host/artist
- create inviting scripts for each post -
~ 10 hrs., by volunteers
- pickup maps from printer (~ 15 min)
- place posters Helena area (~ 120 min)- deliver maps, signage fixtures downtown (~ 90 min)
- deliver fairy door items + donation boxes - and pickup (~ 90 min)
- Setup & Take-down Trolley Signage
(3:45pm + 8:05pm ~40 min)
- Setup & Take-down Red Carpet Structure/signs
(3:30pm + 8:05pm, ~40 min)
Financial Report - 2024
DETAILED REPORT SHEET COMING SOON.
Thank you for your patience as we work with our new bookkeeper.
TOTAL INCOME — for 4 seasons of Art Walks:
$9,000 — Participation fees =
$3,000 — Business Improvement District Grants
$1,000 — St. Peter’s Foundation
$1,300 — Various Small Business Neighbor Donations**
$ 200 — Visitor’s Donations
$14,500 actual dollars
In - Kind Contribution estimates: (not actual dollars gained)
$5 - 10,000 — Montana Radio Company
$1,000 — Helena Design + Print
$______ — Volunteer free labor (priceless!)
$18,000 — given by Omerta Arts: an unsustainable gift in 2025
(Admin., P.R., Customer Support, Graphic Design, Web
Services, Data Mgmt, Signage, Currier, Trolley, etc…)
_________
$25,000… unsustainable
$39,500 + = TOTAL PROGRAM EST. of 2024
**We are seeking to add a single ‘Presenting’ sponsor to ensure we can continue to provide this event — each season.
Send interested supporters our way!
TOTAL EXPENSES for 4 seasons of Art Walks:
DETAILED SUMMARY SHEET COMING SOON
Thank you for your patience as we work with our new bookkeeper.
Dear Art Walk Participants,
We know your first question:
Regarding pricing, yes Downtown Helenan's, you remember correctly. Here’s the real tea.
There have been several years of very-low-cost-to-participate art walks, and from what we’ve learned, that low price was a contributing factor of the dissolution of your former Downtown Helena Inc. organization.
From our interviews with nearly all the organizers of Art Walks in our region’s cities’, we found no two program structures were exactly alike — but all required monumental efforts. Last year, Omerta’s in-kind contribution of skilled labor for the program totaled more than 500 hours — and it shows (if we get to say so ourselves!).
They ranged from vacation-town gallery-only art walks with variable cost-sharing pools (ie. Whitefish/Livingston), to a various mix of fully-funded/staffed city-wide app-friendly festival-style events, with dedicated fundraisers/sponsors and plans to grow (ie. Boise/Missoula/Bozeman/Butte). We asked: "who manages? how often? how many hosts/artists/visitors? income streams? largest expenses? advertising strategies for hosts/artists/visitors? visitor count? solved and unsolved challenges?"
Our current structure in Helena is unique in that The Omerta Arts Syndicate now owns the program, but in service comparison does come closer to the Billings' Art Walk where the Downtown Business Association who organizes every “First Friday” also sponsors the 6x/year Art Walks (consequently less advertising is necessary).
The Billings art walk program is organized by an outside paid contract worker/manager, but the signage/equipment, financials, and expenses are managed by their DBA.
They have about 30 variable host participants spread over up to a 1.5 mile radius, while they do not have a robust directory or instagram presence for individual artists the businesses have a spot on their website year-round, and they do not have other incentive programs to circulate visitor foot traffic. They used to have a trolley system, but abandoned it for financial reasons we understand.
Participants of their DBA already pay an annual membership fee, AND roughly 30 of them pay an additional $400/yr to be featured in the artwalk program.
REGARDING HELENA ART WALKS’ HISTORY…
To understand better The Omerta Arts Syndicate’s ownership of the Art Walk Program, please let us clear up the history of how this came to be.
About 41 years ago, the ‘Art Walk’ began in Helena as a gallery walk with Artist Talks coordinated between Ghost Art Gallery and two other galleries (now permanently closed).
At some point the event became co-organized with Downtown Helena, Inc. (DHI) — a now dissolved non-profit committed to event organization/promotion in downtown Helena, and closely associated with the non-profit Business Improvement District (BID) who assisted DHI with a variety of costs, but was unable to commit to the full extent of DHI’s mission.
(I’ll let them be the authority on those details.)
In early fall of 2023, when Omerta Arts saw that DHI was struggling with events and the 40th year of Art Walks in Helena were at jeopardy, we offered to help with the artist-wrangling side of the Art Walk program. It quickly became clear that DHI was not able to continue the role of organizer for the event and in October of 2023 Omerta Arts, a business not yet one year old, took on 100% of the responsibility.
Graciously, the BID introduced a grant program 6 months later to those who would want to take on such events.
We feel, with the many improvements and services offered to coordinate the 100+ participants each season, the cost of advertising and efforts to circulate foot traffic, and reliable customer support (including this letter!), that we have offered a more than fair price for the program.
We are also listening to you and doing the best we can to pivot when we can to serve participants better.
REGARDING GRANTS…
The GREAT NEWS is that we have obtained a significant grant of $25,000 from the MT Department of Commerce for advertising across 5 events to attract and track even more visitors to the program - not just for those in town.
To us, it means that if last year's numbers remain steady the program will come close to balanced in the books for 2025. More about that soon.
The other GREAT news is that as artists ourselves, we are GREAT at stretching a dollar and placing volunteers in where-ever possible; please know that the dollars you spend this year as a business to help this vibrant effort will be nearly tripled in value. We hope we can count on your support this year!
Warmly,
The Omerta Arts Syndicate
Leah Cupino & Chris Riccardo, co-founders
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Trolley Rides & Easy Parking
Thanks to our Major Sponsors
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Enjoy Live Arts!
You can now discover
visual artists
AND live music -
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Restaurants & Food Trucks
Can you smell that delicious food?!
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New Map & Bingo!
to highlight
Key Partners -
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Great way to catch up
It HAS been a while since we’ve seen you!
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Reusable Signage
Choose the style that suits your location
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Business-Artist
Easy checklist of contact
info and expectations -
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Advertising
the public will know
when to show up! -
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Dates
5 events between
now and 2025 -
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Key Packages
let visitors know
YOU are invested
Support your community
Support your community
Have Fun
Have Fun
✺ Frequently Asked Questions - for Businesses ✺
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Yes, and sort-of… You may personally arrange with the artist(s) up until about two to three weeks before the event — at that time we REALLY close registration and must do the careful curation of pairing a wide variety of artists with the best suited host for the evening. Please let us know asap when you have it all pre-arranged.
This checklist will help you have your agreement with the artist(s) covered.
We also will take the time to match up registered businesses with un-assigned artist participants.
**Businesses receive discounts on registry for hosting a Social Club Member during Art Walk. -
No. Businesses do so much already!
With our Permiere Package we will deliver reusable signage you can display about the artist you host streamlining information for visitors. -
We realize that providing snacks and beverages can be tricky for a few different reasons. Do not feel pressured to do so for every event. Be clear with your artist about your intentions, and maybe they’ll pitch in.
See the checklist to make sure you cover all the topics when you discuss with them. -
Spread the word to other visitors, artists, and businesses.
And definitely send us a few words of encouragement — we’re doing this for you too!
(We also would love to hear your ideas for improving the future Art Walks). -
Misunderstandings during agreements happen when expectations are not established ahead of time.
Sometimes they happen regardless. We ask that you have an open conversation with your artist before deciding that Omertà Arts should get involved.
Contact Us with issues you believe need to know about now, and in the future -
We want to do this right.
Costs per event include:
running ads in the paper, social media and radio ($200+ each), printing full color posters and maps ($250+), trolley rental ($600+), special late night movie sponsorship at the Myrna Loy ($400+),
Reusable investments:
trolley event signage for pickup spots ($450, reusable), reusable signage for annual participants ($42 each), indoor signage for premiere businesses ($25 each)
Staffing Power ($x,xxx?)
design, update and delivery of printed maps, strategic matching of artists, musicians and food trucks with businesses, radio interviews, website design, help-desk, design of newspaper ads, and soc media ads plus posting tasks.
Clear communication with all parties involved, and someone to complain to who has some power to adjust the whole thing? Priceless.
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Instead of balloons that never seem to stay put, Omertà Arts would like to provide the annual registered businesses with quality re-usable large and colorful signage.
We’re proud to present a solid surface flag pole mount as a handy fixture on your building on which a removable 19” pole would hang a 3ft. x 5’ flag to display as much as you like, and replace on other days with your own (exact product will arrive soon!).
*Artwalk registrants interested in ONLY ONE EVENT will receive an official smaller sign to display as a suction cup mount to their doors. -
Yes! and we encourage you to do so at either the basic level or the premiere package.
We both want to plan ahead.
$10 off per Artwalk that you include an Omertà Arts Social Club Member! -
Show off your sparkling participation by sending us pic or two in adequate lighting, without blur or distracting elements. Bonus points for one that includes a busy store of visitors or one with yourself and artist together.
info@OmertaArts.org -
You can expect roughly 3,000 visitors to wander around downtown for Art Walk events during favorable weather.
Some of them will enter your place of business.
NEW: In addition to hosting a visual artist, you may also request a musician from our list of those available for this event.
Many businesses find that visitors will stick around longer if provided free light snacks and beverages. Food Trucks will also be assigned spots along downtown where visitors can find larger portions. -
Honestly, we wish we could make this free for artists. We’d rather artists invest in materials and courses to further develop their skills.
You can help keep the cost of Art Walk registration low or even free if you can send any sponsors our way or volunteer to help cover an hour or so of the manpower cost of the program.
Email us your wishes and we can get you engaged!