The Michigan Daily-Wednesday, July 23,1980-Page 7 ,r '.?' }fir y 1 . , , Y3 _ .: Hr..v $ ...v f >dae x " .. x:. lit II .v£ : r t C t 40* 'U' guild caters to student, r local t ' ;" ,: " ~~4 Daily Photo by JIM KRUZ AN ARTIST RELAXES as prospective patrons mill over his work during last year's Art Fair. South, East University artists juried by acceptance committee artists By SUSAN McCREIGHT Ethnic foods on Main Street, hand- made musical instruments on State Street, and a children's craft area on the front lawnof the Union are a sam- pling of the University Artists and Craf- tsman Guild's contribution to this year's Art Fair. Sponsors of the Summer Arts Festival, the Guild is a non-profit art association that operates year round in the Union. The organization generates all its own funds from studio fees and membership dues, according to Celeste Mellis, Guild director. THE SUMMER ARTS Festival is the largest fragment of the fair, concurring with two other independent fairs and annual summer sales by local mer- chants. Participating students are given a reduced rate of two-thirds the regular exhibition fee, one-half the membership dues, and are given top priority when applying to exhibit, said Helen Welford, who will become Guild director after the Art Fair. Still she said, most of the 750 artists and craftspersons who share the 53 booths lining Main Street and State Street are established professionals from Michigan. The Guild was initiated, Welford said, to offer students and associates of the University an alternative to the long See 'U', Page 8 Ry TOM MIRGA Before an artist can begin to set up a booth along South or East University, his work must first be inspected and approved by the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair Acceptance Committee. According to Committee Coordinator and local artist Jill Damon, the screening process began at last sum- mer's fair when participating artists were juried on the street. ' EACH YEAR, ARTISTS who are in- vited back consist of approximately 75 per cent of the exhibitors, leaving only a scant 40 to 60 spaces available for new artists. The acceptance committee reviews approximately 700 to 900 ap- plications, each accompanied by slides of artwork, to fill these vacant spaces, she said. "Our main purpose is ensuring that the fair has a good balance of many types of media of a high degree of quality," Damon explained. "We don't want to see 80 artists exhibiting pottery and only three exhibiting fibers. Also, we don't want to see artwork that is very similar to other works." APPLICANTS TO the fair, she con- tinued, are asked to submit five color slides in the area of their specialty-photography, pottery, or wood carving, for example. Jurying sessions are organized by area and, the five-member panel of jurists are assisted in their decisions by twenty other artists in various art media. As jurors view the slides, they grade applicants on a scale of one to five. The numbers are averaged for a final score, and those artists with top marks are in- vited to exhibit in the fair, she ex- plained. Damon said the acceptance commit- tee maintains standards and guidelines to ensure as much original artwork as possible is exhibited at the fair. "For example," she said, "we require that photographers do their own processing, and that printers do their own prin- ting." THE COMMITTEE coordinator said her group's responsibilities are "quite important" and are vital to main- taining the art fair's high standards of quality. "Without the screening process," she said, "this would be just like any other fair." Do a Tree a"Favor; Recyley Your Daily Damon said the committee is represented by "a good mix" of both traditional and experimental artists who contribute to the art fair's wide range of works. "It's hard to predict what the jurors will favor from one- year to the next," she said. "This year people coming to the fair will see a lot of unique, experimental works. It's hard to say how the crowds will react." r~ APT printing & graphics Resumes Forms Letterhead Flyers Brochures Invitations Labels 33 NORTH STAEBLER RD., ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN 48103 995-4111