Wednesday, July 16, 1975

THE /MICHIGAN DAILY

Page Three

Wednesday, July 16, 1975 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Three

ART FAIR '75:
Overvi
By MIKE LONG
Ann Arbor will be dressed in
her finest from July 16-19 when
more than 1,000 artists a n d
craftspeople from all over the
nation will adorn her streets
with the sublime, the startling,
the, earthy and the elegant.. .
the 1975 Ann Arbor Art Fair.
This year's sixteenth annual
art extravaganza promises to be
bigger than ever with a variety
of exhibits that will hold same-
thing for everyone. Though the
Street Art Fair has, since 1964,
maintained itself at its present
size, the younger Free Arts Fes-
tival has tripled in- size since
it began five years ago. The
entire event has, in fact, grown
to such an extent chat 3 May-
or's Art Fair Committee was ap-
proved this year by the City
Council to recommend solutions
to some of the problems result-
ing from the burgeoning growth-
a d popularity.
ACCORDING to two me.ebers
of the 11-member-committee, the
primary focus this year is on
supplying parking areas and
transportation for fairgoers and
controlling unregistered artists.
The two committee members,
Kris White, coordinator of the
Free Arts Festival and E. Uni-
versity and Main Streets, and
Richard Brunvand, coordinator
of the Street Art Fair on S.
University St., emphasized that
all exhibitors who have not been
registered and assigned a booth
in the Street Art Fair oe Free

ew: The elegant and the earthy

Arts Festival sites will be sub-
ject to arrest.
Special "marshalls" will be
appointed to monitor exhibits
throughout the duration of the
fair and inform unauthorized
exhibitors of the consequences
if they continue to displav.
THE COMmiTTEE plans to
arrange for parking facilities
beyond the congested Main St.
and campus areas with shuttle
buses proiding transportation
to, from, and in between the
fair sites. The details of this
system wil be publicized in ad-
vance.
The Mayor's Art Fair Com-
mittee was formed upon the Ye-
quest of the organizers of the
Street Art Fair and includes re-
presentatives from the city ad-
ministrator's office, the police
department, the University's se-
curity force, the Chamber of
Commerce, the S. University
Businessmen's Associatian, the
State Street Merchant's Ass-ia-
tion and the Street Fair selection
jury as well as the coordinators
of the Street Fair and F r e e
Festival.
The Committee's intent is to
function as a central coordinat-
ing body for the fair in an at-
tempt to control the deteriora-
tion of what Dick Brunvand de-
scribed as the event's "distinc-
tion and quality." This strivi fg
for distinction and quality ex-
tends back to the first event in
1959, the "Arts and Crafts Mar-

ket", in wrich approximately 100
invited artists participated. In
1960 it was renamed the Street
Art Fair.
THE STREET Art Fair w a s
the brainchild of the South Uni-
versity Businessmen's Associa-
tion whose members, with the
help of the Ann Arbor Art As-
sociation, designed it as an aes-
thetic supplement to losal mer-
chants' July Bargain Days. Both
associations, as well as tther
groups and individuals, have
continued to contribute time and
energy to the Street Fair, which,
even in its early years, was a
nationally recognized a>t event
The Street Fair grew rapidly
and in 1964 the deciscon was
made to limit particination to
340-400 artists, both local and
out-of-state. Jurying systams
were consequently established to
reinvite participants whasa work
was considered to be of consis-
tently high quality and to screen
the work of the increasing num-
ber of applicants.
In 1971 a group of University
art students held the first an-
nual Free Arts Festival, with
the help of various University
departments as an alte-native to
the Street Fair's limitations on
participation. It also, of course,
offered alternatives for the
many art lovers with skinny wal-
lets. But the Free Festival es-
sentially was conceived as an
outlet for local artiss and
craftspeople, including students.

The first Free Festival, held in
conjunction with the Swreet Fair,
was free to all artists who wish-
ed to participate, no advance re-
gistration was requi-ed, and it
was a success.
THE FESTIVAL participants
organized the University Artists
and Craftsmen Guild in 1977,
composed of over 214 profession-
al and non-professional artists
and members of the studen-
body. Besides coordinating th.
annual festival, the Gaild, which
presently claims over 700 dues-
paying members, also sponsors
several other annual ar! fairs
and organizes variaus work-
shops and classes.
This year's Free Fe.;lval will
consist of approximately 3410
participants exhibiting on E.
University St. and about 253 on
Main St. Although the festival is
not juried, all exhi'oiors are
members of the Guild or are

University students and their
work must adhere to Guild
standards or originality cod
quality.
Both the Free Festival and the
Street Fair will provide chid-
ren's participation areas, de-
montsrations of nearly every
arts & crafts technique f r o m
batik to welding, high school
students' displays and in the en-
tertainment department: p e r-
formances by local musicians
and various groups from the Ann
Arbor Council for the Perform-
ing Arts.
THE STREET FAIR will also
host its annual displays of work
by members of the Potter's
Guild and the Senior Citizen's
Guild.
The Ann Arbor Art Fair is,
however, much more than t h e
sum of its parts. The estimated
attendance this year -- D i c k
See ART, Page 8

NPENDLETON ARTS INFORMATION CENTER
Michigan Union, 2nd Floor
PRESENTS
KWASI ADUONUM
ON THE
"TALKING DRUMS"
Thursday Noon, July 17
HEADOUARTERS FOR STATE-WIDE
ART FAIR INFORMATION
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5th ANNUAL ANN ARBOR
N MAIN STREET

-..t

Y
r'
.

Heart of Ann Arbor's
Downtown Business District

-FEATURING-
200 ARTISTS selling and
demonstrating their work

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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
ARTISTS AND CRAFTSMEN GUILD

Main Street Merchants' Bargain Days
Entertainment, Children's Participation Areas, Ethnic Foods
Shuttle bus service to and from campus area art fairs

Wednesday-Friday 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

JULY 16, 17, 18,19,1975

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