The first floor of the Tyler School of Art was transformed into a lively market late Friday morning as the Art Market at Tyler opened its doors for the weekend.
More than 45 artists were selected to be featured in the third annual Art Market.
Featured artists included Tyler alumni, as well as artists from other universities in the Philadelphia area. Visitors had the opportunity to purchase art, attend workshops, discussions and tour the updated facilities. Vendors featured glasswork, ceramics, photography, and paintings, among other media.
The Art Market was conceived by the Tyler Alumni Association Board as a proposal to receive a start-up grant from the university.
“The university generously provides start-up grants to alumni associations of all the schools,” said Louis Cook vice president of the Tyler Alumni Association Board. “They’ll put money aside and out of all the proposals that come from all the school’s alumni associations, they’ll pick a few and give funding thats meant to seed programs and events that will be ongoing, just like Art Market.”
Cook said the board took inspiration from a smaller event held at the previous Tyler School of Art campus in Elkins Park.
“At the old campus, we had an event that was much smaller, a holiday craft fair,” Cook said. “It was very popular, but it was mostly a students and neighbors event. In one of our regular alumni meetings we were like, ‘How can we win this money, and how can we make this event bigger?’ We added a lot to that original concept.”
The planning process started with dozens of applicants each vying for a spot in the market.
“We invited outside artists and students from other schools to participate,” Cook said. “We tried to collaborate with some other external partners from the beginning. The individual artists from the show are chosen from a larger pool of applicants by artists Megan Brewster and Erin Waxman. It has gotten better every year.”
For some students, a chance to sell their work at the art market meant more opportunities to attend other art-related events in the future.
“The students [of the Fibers & Material Studies Department Guild] do all sorts of cool processes, and they are trying to save up money to go to Montreal for an art fair up there,” said Loo Bain, a studio technician in the fibers & material studies department. “We did all sorts of different dying processes, and we are pooling our resources [to make] knit goods and jewelry.”
Members of the fibers & material studies department program worked together to create many of the pieces on display Friday.
“We all worked collaboratively on Friday mornings,” said Emma Burzycki, a junior studying Fibers. “We would dye fabric, specifically the infinity scarves that are fleece. The leggings, tote bags, and T-shirts were a collaborative, group activity.”
For alumni participating in the Art Market, returning to Temple meant inspiring current students who attended Friday’s event.
“Seeing the student work at the Art Market was motivating,” said Billy Murray, a freshman in the Bachelor of Fine Arts program. “I saw what is possible with an education at Tyler.”
Abigail Potts was excited to return to the Tyler School of Art and has kept busy since graduating last Spring.
“I like being back in the building,” Potts said. “It is fun to see how [things have] changed. [Since graduation], I have been in a couple shows in Jersey, Philly and New York.”
Students, staff, guests and administrators, including President Theobald, reveled in the talent of the artists at Friday’s art market.
In addition to vendors, the art market featured interactive workshops, a glass-blowing demonstration and discussions led by a panel of artists and designers.
“One of the things we always hoped to accomplish in the long run was engaging organizations within the arts community, not just individual artists and people interested in buying the art,” Cook said. “As well as different collectives and studio organizations that students here can be apart of once they graduate. [The Art Market] provides an opportunity for students to attempt to sell their work right next to some heavy-hitting professionals in the same field.”
A portion of the proceeds from the art market at Tyler helps fund scholarships for students in the Tyler School of Art.
Tim Mulhern can be reached at timothy.mulhern@temple.edu
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