Twenty years ago, a short conversation led to an art fair, now in its twentieth year. Ferndale had an art fair, but Mark Loeb of Integrity Shows and Christina Sheppard-Decius of the Downtown Development Authority felt that it could do more for the city. The goal was to bring in art lovers who would have an ongoing affinity for Ferndale. They reviewed the alliterative “F” words: Fashionable, Fabulous, and ended up settling on Funky as the best theme for the new fair.
What is a Funky art fair? Loeb describes it as “edgier than other fairs. While many focus on art that goes with the decor, the Funky Ferndale Art Fair is focused on unusual work. Art that inspires thinking. Perhaps art lovers see something new in it every time they look.”
Evidently, they had something. Right from the start the show attracted an audience of art lovers, and as Loeb calls them “people who did not realize yet that they loved art.” Funky is a competitive juried art fair turning away far more artists than they are able to accept. The focus is on originality, quality, creativity and craftsmanship like most fine art fairs. It’s the imagery and stories that make it different.
The show features most of the crowd favorite artists as well as almost sixty artists who have never been to the fair. Some of the new favorites include:
Mason Kupina, a stained glass artist who sometimes includes taxidermy into his art.
JBird Cremains, a print artist whose images look like antique family photos, if your family consisted of cats and other animals.
And Alissa Renzetti who generally avoids outdoor shows, but felt this one was too good a fit for her to skip. Renzetti hand creates dolls and characters and then sews appropriate clothing to finish them.
New this year is a puppet parade. Large scale robot and skeleton puppets will traverse the fair every few hours. These strolling characters were created by the community over the last six weeks. The DIA will be offering puppet making workshops during the festival for those who missed out in the process.
DETAILS:
FUNKY FERNDALE ART FAIR
- Nine Mile Road west of Woodward.
- September 25-27. Friday 5pm-9pm, Saturday 10am-9pm, Sunday 11am-5pm
- Twenty Michigan authors
- Twelve emerging artists in their first art fair.
- Ferndale’s patio zone means that patrons can purchase a drink and bring it with them as they shop.
- Free admission.
- FunkyFerndaleArtFair.com
Note: The DIY Street Fair runs the same weekend as Funky Ferndale on the East side of Woodward. That means that shoppers can continue the day with music and food trucks after making their purchases at Funky.
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