French Impressionist Edgar Degas defined art as “not what you see, but what you make others see.” Key West’s homegrown artist, musician and art guide Max Irwin is putting that adage in practice with his Key West Art Walk.
“It takes a village to raise a kid, and I was born in a village of artists,” said Irwin, who developed his walking tour as a way to honor the makers, past and present, who have fostered the creative character of the island. “For a long time Key West had the reputation of being an artists’ colony and I want to show people that we are still here. The whole island spirit is based on individual liberty and the respect we have for being wild and free. I think about that spirit and I want to nourish it.”
Years spent studying and living in Europe convinced Irwin of the viability and necessity of honoring said spirit, “Living in France opened my eyes to how art can validate an identity — whether that’s national, regional or individual — and how culture, if it’s valued, really becomes transformative.”
With support from the community and a grant from The Awesome Foundation, Irwin launched Key West Art Walk in January, developing a Historic Seaport-centric tour that effectively walked visitors through the artistic evolution of the island from the 1930s through today.
Just as the tour was gaining traction among both locals and tourists, the pandemic hit, forcing an unexpected hiatus.
The upside of the downtime was that Irwin had time to focus on his own art and music, namely surrealist collage and hip hop production. “I like finding old dusty records like treasure. I like finding something that’s classic and building off the shoulders of giants. Play, in art or music, is therapeutic for me. When you let go, you find that you’re telling your story.”
As the island began to reopen this summer, the Key West Art Walk required a remix.Post-quarantine, several stops on Irwin’s original seaport route remain closed to groups or maintain limited hours. Not one to be discouraged, Irwin has rewritten his story and script, designing an alternative stroll through select galleries and studios on Upper Duval Street. Among the stops on the amended tour is the Gingerbread Square Gallery, the island’s oldest and the first to exhibit the artwork of Tennessee Williams. According to Irwin, the adjacent courtyard once played host to the congregating and carousing of some of the island’s original creative caste.
Irwin admits that rising rent and gentrification have made it challenging for today’s artists to survive and thrive in Key West. “It’s a pirate island still; you have to be relentless just to afford to live here and for an artist, that’s doubly hard.” Irwin cites commercialization as another barrier to exposure. “It’s become quite saturated here and people don’t know what’s really local or authentic. I feel like I’m supposed to be that filter. I think of it as a responsibility.”
Part of that responsibility is education, and Irwin credits local curators and gallerists with introducing him, and the community at large, to the work of such contemporary Cuban artists as Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara and Mabel Poblet at Gallery on Greene. “So many young artists from Cuba are making progressive work that’s politically and socially relevant. It’s cool to know that there are people trying to bring that work here and not just have Key West be 90 miles from Cuba, but actually build a cultural bridge between the two.”
Irwin’s ultimate aim is to make others see the merit and magic of the island, “We’re like a coral reef here; we have all of these brightly colored characters. Visitors wonder why they feel so comfortable here and it’s because of the imaginative, individualistic force that exists. That feeling comes from artistic energy.” To catch the feeling, and to book a spot on the Key West Art Walk, visit Irwin’s website: keywestartwalk.com or its TripAdvisor page.
