“Art to the Avenue”
Brings the Arts to Life on Greenwich Avenue
By Anne W. Semmes

Greenwich is brimming with artistic talent and for over three weeks in May as many as 130 artists will be celebrated in windows and on walls of over 125 retail stores in the annual Art to the Avenue event. In its 12th year an overflow of artists has spread the event to considerably off Greenwich Avenue sites.
“The retailers’ sales may be down,” said Paul Master-Karnick, the new executive director of the sponsoring Greenwich Arts Council, “But, we’ve had tremendous response from retailers wanting to have opening receptions”
On opening night, May 7, when performers, dancers and musicians will make merry on the avenue, a total of 75 retailers will hold artist receptions for the strolling visitors. “We’ve never had so many,” said Master-Karnick, wishing “to celebrate the downtown Greenwich business district.”
“In difficult times you develop different strategies,” said
Master-Karnick of the retail response. With a dozen or so less retail spaces this year, the event is extended to five non-profit locations, the Bush-Holley Historic Site, Nathaniel Witherell, YMCA, the Thomas Henklemann Homestead Inn and the
Greenwich Adult Education Center in Cos Cob.
Holding forth at The Ginger Man will be ginger haired and prize-winning photographer and Greenwich High School senior, David Tunick, for his first time exhibit at Art on the Avenue.
His variety of works, of birds, vintage cars, and landscapes were displayed in the recent Sotheby Art and Architecture show, while a selection of his bird photographs currently fills a hallway at the Audubon Center.
“Nature and wildlife really excite me,” said Tunick. When he comes face to face with wildlife, he said, “I’m trying to capture the true personality, the emotions, and the landscape it is in.”
Tunick lives with wildlife. “We have five dogs, a cat, goats and chickens,” he said. At age five he began photographing his pets. “I used my mother’s Minolta camera.” In elementary school he was doing black and white photography. He now works with
a. a digital SLR and 50-500 millimeter lens for capturing wildlife.
This fall Tunick will enter Boston University to further master his digital photography. The admissions officer during his
interview told Tunick that she was “overwhelmed” by his art.
“A lot of other students don’t come in as advanced as I am,”
said the tall and talented Tunick.
Yvonne Boogaerts is another young talent who’ll be hosted by the Asiana Café that she happily knows well- she meets her girlfriends there. Boogaerts is a versatile graphic designer from a family of artists. Her father, John was an architect, her mother Florence is a garden designer, and her two brothers sculpt and make fine cabinetry.
Citing her parents’ influence she said, “They designed a garden for each house they lived in. We traveled as a family in Europe.” And when they lived in New York City, she said, “We looked up and down all around.”