The Grinnell Area Arts Council will soon be opening a Local Artists’ Market to mark the beginning of the holiday season in Grinnell. The market will officially open on Nov. 22 and run through Dec. 15. Both art-lovers and dwellers of downtown are welcome to purchase artwork created by local artists throughout the three weeks it will be open at the Stew at 927 Broad Street.
Around thirty local artists will be selling their work through the market, contributing to create a diverse selection of pieces available for purchase.
“We have handcrafted wood products, we have pottery, a lot of different kinds of pottery, we have drawings, oils, we have steampunk lamps, we have metal wall art, fiber arts and jewelry,” said Lee Moran, board member of the Arts Council.
“Some of the wood art is cheese boards and cutting boards art,” said Lee Moran, Arts Council Board Member and coordinator of the market. Moran also noted that one artist will be selling Shibori, which is a type of fiber art which involves the dying of cloth.
The market is a way for Grinnell artists to promote their work. Each individual might have only two or three pieces to present, but together, with thirty or so of them there is enough art for an entire event. “Most of them don’t have enough [pieces of art] to have a gallery show,” Moran said. “This is the only time they can do something like this.”
The Council has hosted markets such as this one for three years now, multiple times a year. “We started out having three a year,” Moran said. The council has now decided to reduce that number to two, but extended the length of each event.
The Council sponsors the event as a core means of advancing their goals. “It goes along with [the council’s] vision and their mission to support local artists,” Moran said, “… and to show to the community what kind of talent we have. What’s important also is that we foster ongoing business for the artists. They’re encouraged to bring their business cards and their brochures.”
Generally, the event attracts several hundred attendees, with the holiday one drawing as many as five-hundred. During the Jingle Bell Holiday event which includes multiple businesses downtown, the market will be open from 5-8 p.m. Thereafter, the market will be open 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
