First Saturday Arts Market ‘home’ to an arts community
First Saturday Arts Market vendor Linda Hardy had debilitating back problems. She credits art for inspiring her to get out of bed and back on her feet again.
After only a year of regular participation in the monthly event – held every first Saturday on 19th Street in the Heights – Hardy’s structuralized mixed-media pieces are now being sold commercially.
Stories like Hardy’s aren’t uncommon for artists who participate in the First Saturday Arts Market, which celebrates its seventh anniversary on March 5, 2011. In addition to being a launch pad for careers, the free event serves as a monthly meeting ground for an arts community that stretches across county and state lines; even U.S. borders.
Building a Community
First Saturday Arts Market founder and organizer Mitch Cohen has always intended for the market to have dual purposes – to provide an outlet for artists to connect directly with the public, and for the pubic to have an opportunity to meet and buy directly from the artists.
“Many of the artists connect outside the market, and even mentor each other in both business and in their art mediums,” said Cohen. “The feedback I hear most from artists and patrons is how much they love the vibe of the market, and enjoy visiting on market days. The original mission of the market has evolved far beyond what I ever could have imagined. I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing a community develop.”
Jewel in the Rough
Like Hardy, jewelry designer Steve Sellers has been selling his wearable art at First Saturday Arts Market for five years and attributes the event to the customer base he has today.
“It’s helped my career and helped me build up a regular customer base that consistently comes there looking for my work,” Sellers said. “I’ve been able to meet a lot of great people in the community”
Vendors at the market share trade secrets, fill each other in on hard-to-find items needed to compose their pieces and keep fellow artists in the loop as to where they can find other shows to sell their art.
The support that the merchants of First Saturday Arts Market provide for each other doesn’t stop with their work. When one of the artists was diagnosed with breast cancer recently, the First Saturday Arts Market community rallied to throw a fundraising benefit in her honor.
“To field support and make friendships with other artists and designers that do the same thing you do is not a common thing in this business,” Sellers said. “But our theory is that we’re all in this together, so let’s make it the best it can be for all of us.”
Home Sweet Home
New Caney resident T.D. Snider, a mixed media artist and regular on the gallery circuit, has been involved with the market regularly for about three months.
Snider professes that the networking and the friendships he’s made will continue bringing him back – even if he doesn’t sell anything.
“The First Saturday Arts Market is like home base for me,” Snider said. “I’ve never run across another place that does what they do for artists who are trying to launch their careers.”
About First Saturday Arts Market
First Saturday Arts Market is held in the Wind Water Gallery parking lot at 548 W. 19th Street, Houston, Texas. For more information about the market, call 713-802-1213 or visit www.FirstSaturdayArtsMarket.com.
by Valerie Clifton | vallclifton (at) gmail.com
