Porch Art Palooza: Self-guided tour comprising 36 Lincoln homes is this weekend

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) —Lincoln’s fifth annual Porch Art Palooza this weekend will feature artwork from 68 different artists across 36 porches.

It’s organized by the Tugboat Gallery, whose mission is to help established and emerging artists exhibit their work.

The free event on Sunday allows guests to follow a map taking them to the porches of participating artists in an 8-mile area in the Near South and Everett neighborhoods.

People can talk with the artist and purchase local art.

This will be Natalie Olinske’s first Porch Art Palooza since moving to Lincoln one year ago from St. Louis.

Olinske said she’s not in it for recognition, but rather a desire to share what she considers art.

Having previously worked as an archaeologist, she said she spent a lot of time in the woods and came across a lot of bones.

“I clean and whiten them myself in order to preserve them, along with different other types of preserved nature such as mushrooms and moss and flowers that I dry myself,” Olinske said about her process.

Her pseudonym is Must Be Dead Creations is an ode to artists who have only been recognized after they’ve died.

She said Porch Art Palooza is a chance to showcase her work without spending hundreds of dollars to enter a bigger art show without knowing how well her art will be received.

This program came with a $25 fee, which covers advertising costs such as printing out maps and posters.

“My art is not like abstract paintings or just like very fine art,” Olinski said. “I always felt like my style of art might not be something that fully belongs within our community here, so I feel like this is a nice way to kind of at least get my footing in the community.”

She said her next goal is to be featured in First Fridays, another part of Lincoln’s flourishing art scene.