RESOURCES:
The Guild's Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair
The Ann Arbor Art Fair on Facebook
The Ann Arbor Art Fair on X (Twitter)
The Ann Arbor Art Fair on Instagram
TRANSCRIPTION:
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and we continue to preview the 2025 edition of the Ann Arbor Art Fair for you. I'm David Fair, and beginning Thursday, the streets of downtown Ann Arbor will be filled with art, creativity, commerce and community. Earlier in the program, we spoke with the executive director of the Ann Arbor Street Art fair, The Original. That conversation with Angela Kline can be found on our website at WEMU.org. As you likely know, the event is actually comprised of three different art fairs. There is that Original. There's the State Street Area Art Fair, and then the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair. That latter fair is where you'll find one of the music stages. It's the Summer Sounds Stage on Main, presented by WEMU and programmed by The Ark, and, in my opinion is going to be a highlight. But why take my word for it? Now, we're joined by the executive director of the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair, Karen Delhey. Am I right, Karen? A highlight?
Karen Delhey: It for sure is going to be a highlight! We have such great partners on that stage, and we are just honored to host you both! So, I'm looking forward to it!
David Fair: Well, I'm certainly glad you could make time to join us on WEMU today, Karen! I mean, how busy are you and the staff just ahead of the Art Fair?
Karen Delhey: Let's just say I just picked up a truck. In a little bit, I'm going to pick up water. So, it's kind of a crazy time, but always good to talk!
David Fair: Now there is some synchronicity going on with the Stage on Main and its presentations at the Summer Art Fair this year. WEMU is celebrating its 60th anniversary. The Ark is celebrating it's 60th anniversary--two very local institutions whose reach extends well beyond the borders of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County. The Ann Arbor Art Fair is an inextricable part of the cultural identity of the community and again extends its reach and goodwill out into the world at large. As director of the Summer Art Fair, what about all this made sense to you?
Karen Delhey: Yes. So, we started partnering with The Ark at their 50th anniversary. So, that was the first year that we were able to get the Palio parking lot, so the parking lot that's right next to the Palio restaurant. And we were able to put in a large stage. And because it was their 50th, I just really wanted to highlight them if we could It's really about the community, this event. And so, we want to figure out ways to include the community and make sure they are part of it. So, it just kind of all fell together. I spoke to Anya and Barb and, of course, Marianne and, and we had great conversations around it. And they've been doing it ever since. So, it's a wonderful partnership that we're very thankful for. WEMU has come on the last couple of years to add to that, which is fantastic. They just bring so much to the table, and we are so proud to have them at the fair! It makes sense. It's just a likely trio, I think.
David Fair: I think you touched on something really important. One of the reasons the Stage on Main will be a highlight is the opportunity for members of the hometown community to be involved and share their creativity in a number of different ways. Why do you think it was important to include such stage takeovers by the Neutral Zone and Amplify Project to highlight who we are?
Karen Delhey: For that exact reason! The Neutral Zone is an integral part of Ann Arbor and the community and what it does with youth programming. And so, we invited them to highlight that by coming onto the stage and doing a stage takeover. It's always a fun day when the Neutral zone is there. They bring such creative genius to the stage. And then, same with Amplify Project. We've been working with them for three years now. This year, they're highlighting area DJs. So, you'll get a lot of local flavor with that partnership.
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and we're just days away from the start of the Ann Arbor Art Fair. It's comprised of three different fairs. And right now, we're talking with Karen Delhey. She is the executive director of the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair, where you'll find the Summer Sounds Stage on Main, presented by WEMU and programmed by The Ark. I love that we get to get exposed to something new, even though it already exists in our own community. That's right up my alley. The Summer Sound Stage, as I mentioned, will be at the corner of Main and William Streets in the parking lot next to the Palio Restaurant, so make sure to stop by. Now, I brought this up earlier with Angela Kline from the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, The Original, Karen, and I'm interested to have your perspective. There are a good number of local residents, townies, as it were, that prefer to head out of town or at least stock up provisions and stay at home during Art Fair of your summer. I mean, is it a lot of people taking over downtown Ann Arbor? What about this year's fair might entice some of those folks to reconsider and join in this time around?
Karen Delhey: I hate hearing that! It hurts my heart to hear that people don't want to be here for this. It really is a huge economic driver for this community to have this event. So, I hope that the locals will celebrate it. However, if that's not enough of a reason, come on out and enjoy, first of all, some of the best people watching you'll ever see. The Ann Arbor Art Fair is just full of great people watching. But we have so many great activities and hands-on experiences that you're not going to find anyplace else. We have two different glass-blowing demonstrations that'll be at the fair--the Toledo Museum of Art and Glass Academy in separate sections. We have other kids' activities. There's a youth art fair that's on Ingalls Mall. We'll have a kids' collectors tent on Church and South University, which is an opportunity for youth 17 and under to come in and purchase art and start collecting on their own. So, that's going to be artwork that's donated by Art Fair artists, and it's only $10 for each piece. So, kids can start getting a feel of what they're attracted to. Plus we have other local groups coming out. Doodles Academy will be doing a community tapestry, so the community can get involved in weaving. We'll have Tiana Clemens, who's a local artist, and she'll be doing a kite project with the kids where they can come and decorate kites and hang them, so lots of fun, interactive things, as well as some of the best artists you're going to find from across the countries. So, it's a juried show. All three sections of the fair are juried. It's a great opportunity to come and expose yourself to some wonderful art!
David Fair: Once again, we're talking art, creativity, and community on WEMU with the executive director of the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair, Karen Delhey. She leads one of the three separate fairs that together cover 30 city blocks with all variety of art in what just may be the nation's largest juried art fair. Karen is executive director of the Guild's Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair, as I mentioned. And you've just touched on how interactive the nature of the fair can be, and it seems like those opportunities expand every year. Why is having that interactive component and participatory component so important?
Karen Delhey: I think it's important for people, for me, anyway, and I think this is true for a lot of people, seeing the creation of art as a process, I think, is really important for people to kind of associate with it. Art is so personal, right? Everybody has different tastes, things that they're drawn to, and learning processes and stories, so not just watching the demonstrations, but talking to artists can kind of help firm up that attraction between you and a certain piece of art. As far as interactive, I think everybody can use some creativity in their lives, right? It's fun to go in and kind of get your hands dirty and have a good time. So, being a part of, and especially these community projects where it's several people, gives you this sense of being together, especially now when we need it the most, right, that feeling of unity. So, working on a project together, getting that sense of completion, being creative and having fun are all an important part of being at an event like this.
David Fair: Another of the highlights of the Summer Art Fair has been the Gutman Gallery Tent, and it's back for another run this year. Fair to say this is fine art at its finest?
Karen Delhey: It is! It is! Yes! We opened the Gutman Gallery in 2020 and reclosed the gallery in 2020. We opened in February, closed in March, reopened in July, but it's really taken off and become a part of the community, and we're so thankful. And we highlight some of the gallery artists that are in it, and they come out to the fair. And so, they'll be at Main and Liberty.
David Fair: The Summer Art Fair, as I mentioned, is run by the Guild of Artists and Artisans. It's a non-profit artist member organization. How in your estimation, Karen, does that benefit those who participate as creatives and those who are there to experience the creativity?
Karen Delhey: So, the Guild was actually started as a result of the Ann Arbor Art Fair. We were a group of students. It was roughly 10 years after the original fair started. We were a groups of students that couldn't necessarily get into the original fair. And so, they set up on the Diag. And the University of Michigan saw that need for them to have a space. And so, the next year, they helped organize that section of the fair. And it was run by the head of the Student Activities Council at the University of Michigan at that time, whose name was Vic Gutman. So, that's where the Gutman Gallery name came from. But he was the first director, and he came in, organized the students, and so, from that, they realized the need for an organization that was there simply to help artists market their work. So, that's how the Guild was born. So, we do think it's an important piece. We work really hard to focus on the artist's perspective on what they need and what they're looking for. We want to make it safe for them to focus on being creative, and we handle all the other end of it for them. So, it works out really well, I think.
David Fair: I would agree! And you've given every compelling reason to make it a point to be at the Ann Arbor Art Fair this year. Thank you so much for the time, Karen! I do hope all goes well and smoothly!
Karen Delhey: Thank you!
David Fair: That is Karen Delhey. She is executive director of the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair. That's where you'll find the Music Stage on Main, presented by WEMU and programmed by The Ark. Earlier in the program, we spoke about the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original, and you can hear that conversation with Angela Kline on our website at WEMU.org. The Ann Arbor Art Fair begins Thursday and runs through Saturday, and you'll continue hear about it right here on your community NPR station. I'm David Fair, and this is 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti.
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