Art Walk, a tour of 12 exhibitions in local galleries and student spaces organized by the Harvard College Art Society (H-Art), is this year’s kick-off event to the Arts First weekend, and represents a major shift in control for a signature aspect of the whole festival.

The event has been a staple of Arts First for years, but this is the first year the walk is being produced by a student group.

“It’s like a giant parade through some of the major art galleries that are exhibiting for Arts First,” Jenny D. Wanger ’09, one of the co-producers for Art Walk, says.

“H-Art’s goal is to spread art awareness so the OFA [Harvard Office for the Arts] thought we would be a good fit for the job,” says Wanger, who is also a board member of H-Art.

Lisa J. Maracchi ’09, the other co-producer of Art Walk, started H-Art after thinking that there were no student groups on campus which focused on the visual arts. “We want to bring people together who aren’t necessarily VES [Visual and Environmental Studies] concentrators and who just love art and want to be around it,” Miracchi says.

Art Walk will feature gallery spaces across campus and in residential Houses. Participants can join the tour at any point along the way and come and go as they wish.

“We hope to make it bigger and better than ever before, so people can go see all the wonderful art,” Miracchi says.

Miracchi, who is also the art curator for the Harvard Women’s Center, put together a show of her own for the walk, called “Silent Voices.” It emphasizes different forms of expression through photography, painting, and sketching.

“It’s about seeing visual arts as a different way of speaking and effecting change. It can make people ask questions and think about things in new ways,” she says.

Michael P. Silverstri ’10 is exhibiting a collection of his watercolor paintings in Weld Hall. Silvestri’s subjects include his family, the Boston skyline and a crucifixion.

“The paintings depict things I’ve encountered, people that I’ve seen, places I’ve been and stuff that I hold important to me,” Silverstri says. Art Walk will be Silvestri’s first exhibition of his work, representing one of the reasons Miracchi and Wanger say they find Art Walk so important.

“It’s difficult for students to get gallery space, so this is a really unique opportunity to get to see people who aren’t in the VES department putting their work up,” Wanger says.

—Crimson staff writer Jessica X. Y. Rothenberg can be reached at jxyroth@fas.harvard.edu.