Ann Arbor Art Fair will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary on July 15-18, 2009.
The mission of the Ann Arbor Art Fair is to increase public knowledge and appreciation for contemporary fine arts and fine crafts by creating opportunities that connect artists with the general public to their mutual benefit, culminating in a top-quality juried street art fair.
This 50th Art Fair will feature 174 juried artists, eight New Artists from local universities and colleges, and the Potters Guild. While it is one of the biggest fairs in the country already, this year it promises to be more splendid than usual.
Expect the upcoming Ann Arbor art fair to features beautiful artwork and fine craft by juried artists and artisans in ceramics, painting, jewelry, sculpture, photography, glass, wood, fiber and other art media.
Featured Artists
2009
The featured artist for 2009 is Nicario Jimenez, who resides in Florida. Born and raised in Peru, Jimenez is known for art that displays his cultural heritage: his unique and colorful retablos.
“Retablos are sophisticated folk art in the form of portable boxes filled with brightly colored figurines arranged into intricate narrative scenes.
From the 16th to the 19th centuries, Retablos were carried through the mountains by Spanish priests as portable religious shrines for Catholic saints. Later, they were adapted by indigenous people to include their own deities and mythologies.” he explains.
Jimenez’s work is included in prestigious public, corporate, and private collections, including the Smithsonian in Washington DC.
2008
Last year’s featured artist was the renowned New York photographer Vincent Serbin. His original photographic work uses classic black and white imagery combined with drawings and multiple-image printing to create iconic photographs.
Urban Hyperspace
Development of the Ann Arbor Art Fair
It was a solo show when it first began, back in 1960.
Today the non-profit Ann Arbor Street Art Fair is one of four associated award-winning art fairs. They are said to attract about half a million visitors (and artists) from all of the United States. According to annual survey by the AmericanStyle magazine, readers have rated the show among the top 10 US-based art fairs for several years in a row.
The Art Fair will take place on the Ingalls Mall Lawn by the Burton Memorial Tower, North University, and the Diag on the Central Campus at the University of Michigan.
Besides all this art for display and purchase, there will also be an array of free art activities and performances for the whole family ~ it’s a street fair, after all.
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