Park place: Artists near and far making the rounds to festival in Marion Square

By Diana Nollen

Artists from Australia, Canada, France, Great Britain and 29 states want to come to Marion Square Park on Saturday, May 15, 2010.

But out of 352 entries, there's only room for 50 exhibitors at the 18th annual Marion Arts Festival.

The square just isn't big enough to hold hundreds of artists, plus the 16,000 people who come to see them.

“We have a discreet footprint,” says event director Deb Bailey, 48, of Cedar Rapids, “but it's a whole Marion party. The merchants are ready for action, offering fun experiences in their store fronts. The whole city rolls out a carpet.”

Bailey, who became the festival's director in 2004, is a kindred spirit to those artists who weren't selected by the professional panel of jurists.

“I used to work as a jeweler,” she says. “I did the (festival) circuit quite a while ago, but never got into the Marion Arts Festival. I feel uniquely qualified to comfort those artists who have always been put on hold. There's no shame in that.”

She says the widespread interest from potential exhibitors is “part of what stepping out nationally did for us. We attract artists in different numbers and locations.”

She expects some to simply show up Saturday, hoping to find a space.

“That's for two reasons,” she says. “One, this is a show that artists want to do, and two, it's a tough time for artists out there. It can be worth it for them to take risks either making the applications or just showing up.

“It's a very competitive process. They want a crack at our audience and because artists need to work.”

Visitors who come to browse and buy will see ceramics whimsical and elegant, handblown glass in a kaleidoscope of colors, jewelry made from all sorts of objects, photos, prints, sculptures, wood works, drawings and paintings. While many of the artists are from Iowa and surrounding states, others are coming from Washington, New York and New Mexico.

The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but plenty of others will begin running at 8 a.m. in the festival's 5K race. Other special features include the Empty Bowls Project benefiting area food banks, the 10th anniversary of Art in the Depot, food vendors, music, art demonstrations and hands-on activities. Counting cash and in-kind contributions, Bailey says the festival costs about $110,000 to produce.

Everything happens rain or shine - or wind.

“Last year it was so windy I got called to the park in the middle of the night because the tents were blowing over,” Bailey says.

One aspect not affected by the weather is Art in the Depot, where visitors help create a piece of art to be displayed in a public place. Past projects now grace Marion's City Hall, library, post office, Heritage Center Museum and various other metro area sites.

This year's project will make everyone a star, or more precisely, a flower or grass or maybe a cloud, immortalized on YouTube, video monitors at Farmers State Bank and other city locations, as well as the festival's website.

Tiny Circus, a stop-action animation troupe formed in Grinnell, will lead the way. First stop is Francis Marion Intermediate School. Troupe members will join staff and docents from the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art today and Friday to create a Grant Wood-themed cartoon to be shown at the art museum's Grant Wood Studio in downtown Cedar Rapids.

On Saturday, they'll set up in the park's depot, where festival-goers can come in, don quick costume pieces and enact springtime scenes in a style reminiscent of Busby Berkeley. They'll work in groups, picking up where the previous group left off, Bailey explains, creating “a continual dance.” To see a previous project video, go to www.marionartsfestival.com/art-in-the-depot.html

“This is the first time participants are not just making the art - they are the art,” Bailey says. “That just feels very new and fresh and an interesting way to celebrate the program's 10th anniversary.” 

FAST TAKE

What: Marion Arts Festival

When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 15, 2010

Where: City Square Park, uptown Marion

Features: 5K race at 8 a.m. (register by 7:45 a.m. that day); works by 50 juried artists; Art in the Depot hands-on activities; Empty Bowls Project; food vendors; music; demonstrations

Information:

www.marionartsfestival.com