Another great art fair report from a sunny place...Tempe, AZ, and the Tempe Festival of Arts:
Hanging outside of Zeny Cieslikowski's photography booth at the Tempe Festival of the Arts is a sign that reads, "Invest in your happiness, surroundings, pleasure, understanding, senses. Invest in fine art."
Cieslikowski travels across the country to more than a dozen art festivals annually. The California photographer decided to put the sign up last year when the unemployment rate began to skyrocket and the stock market crashed.
"With all the investments that have gone so poorly for so many people, I thought I'd put the idea in people's head to invest in things that have lasting value," he said. "Even if they don't buy my art, I just wanted people to remember there are other things besides the economy to invest in, like children and family."
Read the article here: Vendors, crowds flock to Tempe Festival of Arts
The article does say with pride that the organizers enlarged the festival this year because they got so many applications. Artists hate to hear this. It may enrich the presenting organization, but it definitely does not enrich the artists.
In the "comments" to the article there is a griper about how the festival disrupts the business going on at the rest of the stores in this commercial district and wishes it would go away. Seems to me I've heard this story before...where was it? oh yes, Ann Arbor, State College, Coconut Grove, Denver -- art festivals bring thousands of people to cities where they eat, shop, spend the night, buy gas, let alone the artists who come for several days and also contribute to the economy. Gee, let's turn that money away and not have the festival. Who needs the millions of dollars these events produce?
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