By Kal Weiss
The Edwardsville Art Fair was held in the City Park by Edwardsville Art Center (EAC) from Friday, Sept. 27 to Sunday, Sept. 29.
The fair was a celebration of art and its impact on the community—according to the EAC’s website; 100 local, regional, and national artists display their talent at the fair every year. Alongside that, there were booths with food and drinks, children’s activities, various performances, galleries, and demonstrations, all for free. It also works to highlight the passion that goes into art.
The fair was even more special this year; the EAC celebrated the fair’s 10-year anniversary. The EAC is a volunteer-run non-profit organization that focuses on educating the Madison County area about art and how to include it in one’s life. Proceeds from the fair go directly to the center, which provides art classes for seniors and children free of charge.
Lewis and Clark (LC) was involved in the fair’s Emerging Artist section. Five of LC’s students submitted their work to the fair: Jeannette Carrington, Grace Becker, Alayna Lammert, Casey Stanton, and Annabelle Scully, who are all a part of LC’s Fine Arts department.
What the students have unanimously agreed on is that the fair has helped them reach outside of their comfort zone and what they are familiar with in terms of submitting their art. Since there was no limitation on how many pieces could be submitted, the artists took advantage of that, exploring the bounds of their personal tastes became a task that they wanted to fulfill.
“The Edwardsville Art Fair was a different experience for each of us,” Jeannette Carrington said. “We were able to experience what it is like to prepare for a fair, set up our tent booth, price our work, stock it with our art, and promote ourselves.”
Grace Becker, the first-place winner of the 2024 LC juried art exhibition, expanded on her experience, “I like submitting art to competitions, but it can be very stressful. I learned from this experience and past experiences that you are not always guaranteed to win a competition—just because you didn’t succeed this time doesn’t mean your art is bad or unworthy. I learned a lot about setting up a booth and how to make the presentation of everyone’s art look good.”
The fair also let the students interact with artists of higher prowess, which successfully educated them in the intricacies of being an artist who is public about their submissions and success. “It was a great experience for new artists. We also were able to talk to the established artists and peruse their art, which was inspiring,” Carrington stated.
If you are interested in submitting work, volunteering, or becoming a sponsor, you can visit the EAC’s website, specifically the section about the Art Fair, at https://www.edwardsvilleartscenter.com/edwardsville-art-fair.
If you are interested in the LC Fine Art Program, contact Angela Hung at ahung@lc.edu or talk to your advisor.
