Credit: David Magnanelli

The South End Art Hop is nothing if not eclectic. The annual celebration of hyperlocal art — which this year runs September 11 to 13 — features outdoor projections and live music on Friday night, haute couture during Saturday’s STRUT! fashion show, and unique handmade wares at the weekend-long outdoor Artist Market. Yet for the 34th edition of the event, the South End Arts + Business Association unites this variety of vibes through a single thematic aesthetic: art nouveau.

The movement’s dreamy, languid, organic forms — think the famous entrance to the Paris Métro, Tiffany lamps, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s cabaret posters — marry elegant design with expert craftsmanship. In the late 19th century, the style took hold in all kinds of objects, from hats to door handles.

Art is similarly far-reaching in Burlington’s South End, where craftspeople are at work year-round making murals, sculptures, artisanal jewelry, lamps and even creemees. To guide you through the neighborhood, we sent a squad of flâneurs to explore in true Parisian style and bring you selections of public art to admire, galleries to visit, makers to meet , shops to peruse, delectables to eat and drink, and venues for great music — all in sets of seven, of course.

While on our stroll, we stopped for a visit with outgoing SEABA artist-in-residence Cynthia Cagle and popped into the SEABA Center, Art Hop’s new Pine Street headquarters. Read on to learn what we found, or use SEABA’s official Art Hop Guide — also available inside this week’s Seven Days newspaper — to plan your own three-day belle époque.

This article appears in Art Hop Guide • 2026.

Alice Dodge joined Seven Days in April 2024 as visual arts editor and proofreader. She earned a bachelor's degree at Oberlin College and an MFA in visual studies at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She previously worked at the Center for Arts...