Shadow Art Fair

Arts, Brews and Tunes

By Amanda Slater

Where can you go to have your fortune told by a 7-year-old, drink local beer, make a film and build a sculpture to race down the streets of Ypsilanti—all in one day? The Shadow Art Fair.

The Shadow Art Fair is a one-day, 12-hour art fair held twice a year at the Corner Brewery that features local music, beer, activities, and (of course) art.

However, when it comes to art fairs, the Shadow Art Fair is one of a kind. It’s a juried art fair that invites weird, wacky and interactive art, featuring mostly non-professional artists from Ypsilanti and the surrounding area.

“A lot of our artists aren’t professional artists, but they’re people who are doing art on the side in their spare time,” said Mark Maynard, co-founder of the fair. “We just want regular people who have interesting ideas and are trying to do stuff with them.”

According to Maynard, the Shadow Art Fair was started by five local artists who wanted to get together the “40 most creative people they knew” to display and discuss their art. When the group, called the Michigan Design Militia, was surprised by a turnout of more than 1,000 people, they decided to make the fair a bi-annual event.

“People don’t really have an opportunity to interact with each other these days,” Maynard said. “You might go to work, go to Wal-Mart or Kroger, but you don’t have a chance to interact in a creative environment.”

At this art fair, creativity reins free. Maynard said, as often as possible, the fair features experiential work that invites spectator participation.

“We’ve had people come in and make documentary films at their booths. We’ve had people taking pictures of people’s feet. We’ve had a bunch of weird hairstyles,” Maynard said.

This year, fair participants will get the opportunity to make a film and later screen it at the fair.

Unlike many other art fairs, the purpose of the Shadow Art Fair isn’t to make money—although artists may charge a small amount in exchange for their creations. Instead, the purpose of the fair is to give artists a chance to interact with each other and the surrounding community while showcasing their work.

In fact, the founders turned down a national magazine’s offer to sponsor the fair and take over the event.

“We very much want to keep it local,” Maynard said. “We don’t want to make a lot of money with it. We just want it to be very community focused.”

The actual fair is held at the Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti. But other local businesses are joining in on the fun this year.

Spur Studios will feature a DJ and will play host to a sculpture race, the will be a lineup of live bands, and Dreamland Theater will be showcasing performance art.

There will be activities for children at the Corner Brewery from noon until 2 p.m. and performances from live bands at the brewery from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Following this, movies that were created by fair participants during the day will be screened from 9:30 p.m. until the end of the day.

To make it easy for fair-goers to park as well as enjoy the other events taking place in the community, two buses will be circling the city from 6 p.m. to midnight and will make stops at the Corner Brewery, Dreamland Theater and Spur Studios.

“I think that people should come to the Shadow Art Fair and have an unflattering portrait of themselves done by one of the artists that will be there,” said co-founder, Molly Mast. “I think they should also go to the fortune telling table and have their fortune told by a 7-year-old. I think people should get a cupcake out of the cupcake vending machine and build a sculpture that can race down the street.”

Whether you’re a regular fair attendee or are checking it out for the first time, the Shadow Art Fair has something for everyone.

The next Shadow Art Fair is July 10 from noon until midnight at the Corner Brewery. For more information, visit www.shadowartfair.com.