Arts & Entertainment

Slinging Drinks and Paintbrushes: Smith St. Bartenders Represent

The Urban Folk Art gallery offers a look at your local barkeep's second job.

Have you ever wondered about the bartenders and waiters at your favorite Smith Street haunt? What do they do when they're not mixing cocktails or reciting the night's specials?

Some make art, and Urban Folk Art Gallery has curated an exhibit to introduce the patrons on the stools to the artists behind the bar.

opens Friday night with an opening party at , which shares space with the gallery.

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Curated by Adam Suerte and Robert Bonhomme of Brooklyn Tattoo, the goal of the exhibit is to show the audience the other side of people in the service industry.

"Connecting with the bar and restaurant industry locally is appealing to me," said Suerte. "You have to make a living so you are able to remain creative."

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There are 11 artists from the show, representing , , , , , and , among others.

Suerte said they reached out to people they knew, and then walked Smith Street to find other people in the service industry that were also artists. Suerte said he thought they already basically knew who was doing artistic work and who wasn't.

"There are very few bars and restaurants on Smith Street that we haven't tattooed someone who works there or owns it," he said with a chuckle. "But there were a couple of people we ended up inviting that I had no idea were even creative."

Some of the artists in Guest Check have exhibited before, and for others, it's the first time. Michael Dulle of The Jake Walk, for example, has a photography blog and takes many photographs, but hasn't seen his work hung before.

"He's over the moon!" said Suerte. 

Guest Check opens tonight, Friday, Oct. 7, with a wine reception and runs through Oct. 24. Urban Folk Art Gallery, 99 Smith St., 7 - 11 p.m. Wine provided by .


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