Celebrating 20 Years of Art and Community!
The Powderhorn Art Fair that began as a smaller 5-state art show has now grown into one of the finest regional art fairs in the country. In 2011, Powderhorn Art Fair celebrated its 20th Anniversary with artists of national and local standing.
Please help us celebrate by sharing your memories and experiences with the Powderhorn Art Fair over the years. Use the comment box below to share your memories:
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Congratulations on 20 years of success. I hold precious memories from years ago when I worked with the Artist Committee and the Powderhorn Business Association as they took care to foster the vision for their show; keeping the Community in mind and the look of the show unique to Powderhorn. With this being the same weekend as 2 other local shows, it was forward thinking of the committee to hold to their vision. The Logo and the Community Showcase were developed while I was associated with the show and I am happy to see the results are beyond what we imagined. I remember also the wonderful Jurors who helped to clarify and strengthen the Committee’s vision. The generosity of ideas shared by all who worked on this show so impressed me. I believe the Artist Committee and their clear intentions infuenced new views regarding the Art Market and Artist participation over the years. With the setting to inspire and the Community to support, I am touched to see the success of the Powderhorn Art Fair in it’s 20th Year. Thank you for the fond memories of the show, especially the people…
Happy 20 Years to the Powderhorn Art Fair! I’m so excited for the Powderhorn Community and what the Art Fair has contributed to the neighborhood. I’ve enjoyed seeing the variety of talent not only from afar, but especially locally. My favorite area has always been the Community Showcase and seeing the enthusiasm the artist displayed, and positive attutudes whether it was steamy hot or rainy. The Community Showcase has given community artist young and old a platform to show people what they enjoy creating. BRAVO!!!
I love the Powderhorn Art Fair and the Community Art Showcase!!! The Community Art Showcase is an opportunity for neighborhood folks to participate!!! Happy Anniversary!!!
I miss living in the big, beautiful green house across 10th Ave. (at the top of the hill) it was always such a treat to walk out the front door and have such an amazing arts community visiting our “front yard” for the weekend. What a fantastic event!! – Owner Regla De Oro Gallery – Art and Fair Trade Gifts (Minneapolis)
When I went to the first Powderhorn Art Fair, I parked next to my soon-to-be new house and walked the few blocks to see the wonderful artwork surrounding the lake. Now I have been a vendor in the Community Showcase for several years, selling photographs of my garden flowers. Be sure to take a detour from the main path to visit our talented local artists in the Community Showcase.
Every year the artist’s roll in and set up their sites, praising the grass, and shade and good neighbors that will be buying their wares The artists now gather all the way around the lake and their lovely work will be yours to consider. Check out the program to find the two artists who have done the fair for every one of the 20 years. I did it for 18? years and have volunteered on the operating committee for a dozen years. It’s where my art fair career began. The 1st year I did the fair my three year old proudly announcing:” my mom made that, it’s for sale you know” is my favorite memory. Stop in and see me in the history tent this year !
Happy 20 Years to the Powderhorn Art Fair! What an Amazing Art Fair held in a Beautiful Park surrounded by the Funky Cool Powderhorn Neighborhood. For 8 years I participated in the Powderhorn Art Fair & I have been honored to receive the “Spirit of Powderhorn” award while exhibiting my art a few times. I always felt so cared for by the art fair staff & volunteers. I love that proceeds from this fair go back in to our park & community. There is a special grass roots feel to it all. Plus, even on the hottest most humid days (& there were a few of them) being next to a beautiful lake, tall trees above & the cool grass between my toes got me thru it, along with the support of the other great artists around me. Thank You, Tammy Ortegon
I feel like I grew up as an artist, with the Powderhorn Art Fair. I was just beginning to do shows, my daughter was a toddler and we lived in the Powderhorn neighborhood. Hearing about a new show started by neighborhood people and artists in MY beautiful park — I just jumped in and applied, was accepted– and joined the 80 or so other artists that first year. We were quite a gathering of new and unconventional artists. Myself with colorful umbrellas and home made panels as my booth, along with another doll artist with an overstuffed chair, and rug as her booth. It was a magical event! The weather was perfect, the crowds excited and responsive — the music and jugglers adding a festive air. So I have done the show for almost every year since then –and have volunteered on the art fair committee to help make the show happen. My daughter is now grown and on her own, I am a experienced art fair professional –and Powderhorn is still my favorite show!!!
My favorite part of the Powderhorn Art Fair was to see the Free Arts Minnesota booth! Their engaging and interactive art projects intrigued me & I got to learn about a really awesome organization and their ART MENTORING program. Since then, I was involved as a mentor, intern, and will be coming back to help as a staff person for the booth at the fair this year. We could really use some extra support for our programs beginning in September. We are doubling our reach to 4,000 at-risk youth in the Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the suburbs – and still NEED 200 volunteers! Come check us out and learn more!
I’m looking forward to seeing what there is this year (and buying something) from Waasa Inabidaa (“we look in all directions”). I remember they were in the group exhibitors section, and now Gordon Coons, one of the artists from that group, is one of my favorite artists. I hope he brings those figures he makes from bottles and special textiles and old blankets and paper maché animal heads…
The weather was perfect for the first Powderhorn art fair in 1991. On the first day, the storm clouds parted and the humidity lifted just as the patrons began to arrive. Soon after, a huge “V†of very noisy geese flew over the crowd and splashed on to the lake surface. It was a good omen.
While some of our 80 artists reported “normal sales†that weekend, some artists had big success stories. I recall booth-sitting for an artist who sandwiched pressed flowers in lovely stained glass compositions. She was anxious because her sales were brisk on Saturday, and she didn’t think she’d have much left to sell on Sunday. She had planned to spend the evening in Minneapolis, but drove back to Mankato and worked all night to have more pieces to sell the next day. She was pretty tired on Sunday, but she sold every single piece of her inventory and went home early.