I have attended the Ann Arbor Art Fairs every year since 1976, 28 of those years exhibiting with my husband Norm Darwish in the State Street Area Art Fair (14 years) and the Guild show on Main Street (14 years).
Jody DePew McLeane explains her drawing techniques
After spending Thursday booth sitting with glassblower Andrew Shea on North University, where the work is very nice, the rest of the day I was with Elle Heiligenstein, mixed media, on State surrounded by some not great work, interspersed with good work, and it was HOT. I fell into bed that night and actually thought about just going home on Friday, but decided to renew my faith in the AA shows by seeking out the place where I would probably feel better about the future of this event.
I go every year and take friends because whatever else it is (and we all have ideas about that) it is a kaleidoscope of everything that is good about the art fair business and everything that is bad.
THE GOOD:
On Friday, with my daughter, Farah Darwish, we headed into the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the original. It was wonderful. You can see why people fly in to buy work at this event. Each booth was inviting and a prime example of why people love art fairs. The work was not "product", but art. This is the reason this show is so heralded by the public. It's the quality.
My friends Tina and Sandy meet up with Jim Parker
My intention with my sites is to bring people to art fairs to see the work and take it home with them. This is the kind of show that builds audiences of collectors. Is there excellent work in the other shows? Undoubtedly, but you have to walk many miles to find it, or pick your destination and not visit the other areas.
Let's say you've got money to spend and you don't have days and days to stay. The original show is the place to go. It took us six hours to view 200 booths. We did spend money here and part of it was the "Geri Wegner" factor. Geri has said many times on this site that she sometimes buy things just because of the "artist" and the interaction she has with that person.
My shout out goes to Elaine Unzicker, who works in chain maille, who was telling stories to the lone customer in her booth when we arrived and who proceeded to engage us and helped Farah try on her work. She was so interesting and so positive and making the best of the hot day that I had to carry away a piece of her jewelry. (Elaine's website is undergoing reconstruction but you can see an older YouTube video of her and her work here.)
For the future, there is good work on every street at Ann Arbor, but if you have limited time and want to see the best the original show is the place to go. You will soon realize why there are people who say, "I only go to the Original show."
This fair is "commercial free" - no vendors showing their wares.
The award winners and media:
• Christine Bartling, Park Ridge, IL
• Lisa Burge, Taos, NM, Painting/Printmaking
• William Kidd, Miramar, FL, Ceramics (in his booth at Lakefront)
• Natalia Margulis, Livingston, NJ, Fiber
• Jenny Pope, Ithaca, NY, Printmaking
• Eric Silva, Whittier, CA, Jewelry
• Heinrich Toh, Kansas City, MO, Printmaking
• Mark Traughber, Pittsburgh, PA, 2D Mixed Media
• Ann Tubbs, Ottawa Lake, MI, Ceramics
• Yamashita Takashi, Tokyo, Japan, Photography
THE BAD:
Way too much commercial buy/sell work all over the place. It is mind numbing. But the event got its start 54 years ago as a way for the merchants to attract people to their summer sidewalk sales and those sales remain. Intrusive for an art fair? You got to believe that.
Do I buy from them? You have to believe that also. The original Borders bookstore was near our booth and it was a wonderful place to take a break from the heat and find good books. There was an upscale clothing store (Jacobson's) behind our booth where I used to buy my sons' back to school clothes at their summer sales. Summer shoes? Jackpot!
Did I like selling art in the "pants department?" No. Yet, the art work nearby was good and you really could see where the commercial work ended and the art show existed.
As years went by and the shows expanded to their current size, the economy got bad, the shows had a harder time filling their spaces and now the quality of the work is not nearly as good in the "pants department." I saw work on Liberty Street that was part of the show, but you could hardly tell that it wasn't buy/sell. Really confusing and not good.
I think this is the only show in the country where the merchants have gotten out of hand, selling anything that will bring in the dollars. This proliferates though only in two of the shows: South University and the State Street Area show.
The Guild show on State and Main do not have vendor booths interspersed throughout, as well as the Original show.
I know the organizations count on each space being filled to meet their financial obligations but as I stood on State Street in the midst of the show it was truly disheartening to see all of the "art" that was clearly "product."
I'm talking about in the show, not the merchants buy/sell areas. Booths full of
"stuff." Please shows, can you resist the need to fill each space with anything you can get your hands on?
Even the City of Detroit was out to get us. The Emergency Manager Kevin Orr picked art fair week to announce the Detroit bankruptcy. How about a little more depressing news for this region?
A story on local artists responding to that.
Yes, the heat. What are you going to do? A story from AnnArbor.com:
Comments
This is the very reason there are some excellent artists in the State Street Area Fair and the other ones also. Acceptance into the Street Fair is precarious and you can be in one year and gone the next.
I spoke with an excellent ceramic artist on Liberty near State who was surrounded by just terrible work (embarrassingly) and she voiced the same thing. The State Street show has been good to her and to give up her space, because she is reinvited, to take a chance elsewhere doesn't seem like a good business decision. Likewise, we were in the Guild show and my husband chose to do that one because it was "forever" and we had a 10 x 17 space in the shade, near parking garages and there was very good traffic. Sales too.
Connie, when you came by we were soaking from the heat and humidity. I drank 2 gallons of water that day. Yes, I have one of the better booth locations. That is why I still do State Street. Who knows what I would get in the original show. That whole see old friends thing can get a little overwhelming when all I want to do is go to sleep after the show. Surprisingly, I had more invites than I could handle.
Well, I semi agree with you, Geri, because I was feeling overwhelmed this year and decided to focus on just one section and only had one particular item I was looking to buy. Not saying I only bought one piece of art, however!
My plan for next year is to get some friends and stay at the Bell Tower Hotel right in the middle of the show and retreat to the air conditioning when we get overwhelmed, but definitely want to get around more next year. Like you, I know so many people it is not only a shopping expedition it is a catching up with old friends time, seeing their latest work and seeing new work. There is just no rest for the weary ...
As usual, Barry, it was great to see you, just too bad I caught you in the midst of a "weather emergency" that luckily did not materialize. You've got one of the better booth locations, don't you think?
Actually, Geri, there is not enough art at Ann Arbor.
Regardless of quality, there is too much art at Ann Arbor. Compare it to information overload--you can't make up your mind.
I get burnt out after about 250 artists. As a semi-serious buyer, I enjoy seeing a lot of art but someone not looking for a specific medium must glaze over and think they are seeing the same thing after a while. (wait, that did happen to me at a show with too many jewelry booths)
Combine that with a 4 day show when the weather always seems to be hot and there have to be easier, better shows to do.
Connie, I have another show this weekend and I have hardly recovered from the torturefest. I glazed today and am firing tomorrow. Then I only have 2 weeks before my next event so taking the time to write may be a challenge.
I grew up in Michigan and I got my first degree (in chemistry) from UM. I started summer term. My first memories of Ann Arbor were of the Art Fair, I lived on South U. It was a madhouse then back in 1980 but it sounds like it's gotten much worse and has expanded quite a bit. I don't remember tents on North U, for example. As I student, I found it very exciting. I appreciated the sidewalk sales and although I appreciated the art, money was tight. Even then it seemed there was quite a mix of art for sale. I haven't returned to Ann Arbor in quite some time and last time I was there the campus had expanded quite a bit.
Although I now live on the west coast, I still have connections to Michigan and friends in the area. Unfortunately, over the last couple of years several of them have told me that they no longer go to the Ann Arbor art festivals. They say it's gotten too expensive or too logistically difficult. I have family that live in Ann Arbor, I would really like to see for myself, or maybe it's better to keep my memories...
Only about 500 of our members were in Ann Arbor last week. What do they have to say? Barry? Nels? Jim? Michael? Melissa? Erika? Lisa? Amy? Stephen? Candiss? Beth? Deborah? Christine? Stephanie? etc., etc.
Thanks for this input, Meg. It is a bittersweet reality. Many artists had solid sales at this show for many years and remember those days and want the event to work for them. It is sad to hear that you as a first timer can't justify the expense. It is an extreme event and someone coming for the first time, who hasn't seen their space, and seen what is going to be near them is often dismayed. Few first timers get the more prime spaces because they don't even know there are such things they're more used to some spaces being more central than others, but don't expect to be surrounded by a shoe department.
The changes over the years are: more geographic distribution of the shows over a wider area of the town (not more artists because the Guild show has cut down on several 100 of spaces over the years), it is just spread out more; the economy which has chased many good artists away from the show and they have been replaced by lesser quality; all of the other economic pressures brought on by the proliferation of events; the aging of our audience.
I'm still waiting to hear if anyone had their best show ever there this year. Was it you?
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