Art Battle returns to Hamilton for Halloween

The Halloween Art Battle will take place at The Art Gallery of Hamilton, connecting artists and their community

Featuring an array of Hamilton artists in one place competing in timed tests of artistic skill, Art Battle is coming to Hamilton once again this Halloween at the Art Gallery of Hamilton. Doors will open at 7:00 p.m. and the show starts at 8:00 p.m.

This year's event will include a costume contest so the audience can compete alongside the artists. The energetic environment is also fueled by curated music from a DJ.

Art Battle was founded in New York City in 2001 and has hosted over 3,000 speed painting competitions for local artists across the world. Art Battle Hamilton held their first live painting tournament in 2018.

Artists can register on the Art Battle website and apply to compete at events in their local area. Artists across mediums from any background are welcome to compete.

Each tournament consists of three rounds of speed painting. In the first two rounds, artists have twenty minutes to put their vision onto a canvas while the crowd observes the artistic process. The crowd then votes on the two best artists who compete in a 30-minute, high stakes final round as the DJ turns up the pressure to determine the Art Battle champion.

Hamilton artist Becka James highlighted Art Battle as a reason to stay active with the local art scene, as it has taken her across Ontario to compete with other artists.

“I became a really big supporter and participant of Art Battle. I really believe in it and it's a fun experience [because] it's also interactive, right? So it's not just you sitting in your room or studio painting something, you have the crowd involved ... Having that feedback of people with you while you're doing this timed painting, it's a whole inclusive experience … even if you aren't an artist and you're there watching it, you get to have that experience of being involved and seeing the process of the art,”
said James.

James highlighted the positivity she has gained after being a participant for seven years and the lessons she has learned as an artist since. This is partly due to the contrast of working as an artist alone versus in a public setting such as Art Battle.

James mentioned that young artists tend to second guess themselves when working alone, getting too attached to the work and becoming hypercritical. "They'll work on something for hours and then it just doesn't turn out the way they want and they're crushed, right? With Art Battle and speed painting you can't get attached to it .... so it almost humbles you in a way. It doesn't matter what your own opinion is, if somebody else is connecting with the artwork that you've done that's what matters," said James.

Art Battle is a celebration of art, especially the artistic process, that gives a meta-performance of sorts that showcases this process to everyone. More information about the event and Art Battle can be found at the Art Battle website. Be sure not to miss this great Halloween event this Thursday night!