Salem Arts Festival

Salem Arts Festival to Showcase over 200 Artists & Performers

History, Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping, SMS News, Volunteer Opportunities No Responses »

Jun 012018

Performance art. Gallery art. Public art. It all awaits you this weekend, June 1-3 as the family-friendly Salem Arts Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary. And you are a most welcome guest!!!

“It’s hard to believe how far this festival has come in 10 years. So much conscious work and collaboration across organizations and disciplines has been done over the years to create a one-of-a-kind event, truly unique to Salem,” says Kylie Sullivan, Executive Director of Salem Main Streets (SMS), the community non-profit that founded the Festival.

The Salem Arts Festival kicks off with an opening reception at Salem’s Old Town Hall on Friday, June 1st at 6 p.m. The free event allows visitors to enjoy beautiful art work in the juried gallery while being entertained by renowned local and regional performers Betsy Miller Dance Projects, High Meadow Howlers, Samba Viva, and headliners Los Sugar Kings.

Over the weekend, this free celebration of arts, culture, creativity and community will feature over 200 artists and performers, and includes a variety of art, music, dance, and theatre performances. Public activities include onsite art-making for all ages, local artist vendors selling their creations, a juried art exhibition and a community-built public art installation.

Arts Festival Locations

The Salem Arts Festival takes place in the heart of Salem at a variety of indoor and outdoor venues. Primary locations include Old Town Hall, Derby Square, Front Street, and Artists’ Row. A Juried Art Show, sponsored by Peabody Essex Museum will be held in Old Town Hall throughout the festival, with an artist street fair in the area around the building on Saturday and Sunday

Live performances will take place (weather permitting) on Derby Square and Front Street. The event is rain or shine; in the event of inclement weather, performances will be moved into Old Town Hall and Front Street Coffeehouse.

This year, Creative Collective, a locally based creative organization that connects creativity, community and commerce joins SMS as Salem Arts Festival organizer, founder and Chief Creative Officer John Andrews says “Partnering with Salem Main Streets made so much sense to the collective, and as we watch the growth of the creative economy and learn more every day how important support of the arts and culture are to healthy, safe and vibrant communities we are honored to be partnering with and fostering the 10th anniversary of the festival.”

One of the most anticipated events this year is “Bee to Brick”, our fifth collaborative public art project, this year led by Salem artists Kate Babcock and Jen Platt. Bee to Brick will install playful swarms of several hundred “bees” around the festival area, created entirely out of recycled plastic bottles and other reusable plastic pollution.

Over the past few months, community groups and locals of all ages have created hundreds of bees in an effort to increase awareness of the critical role pollinators play in sustaining our ecosystem. After the project, the bees will be transformed to “bricks” that will be used be students from the Phoenix School for their “Bottle Brick Project.”

The Salem Arts Festival also celebrates the third annual “Mural Slam” on Artists’ Row this year, organized by the City of Salem’s Public Art Commission and Public Art Planner Deborah Greel. Murals will be painted throughout the weekend by 10 selected artists and will be completed by the end of the festival. The murals will remain to bring vibrancy to Downtown Salem throughout the year.

The goal of the Salem Arts Festival is to promote all the arts in Salem and to provide the entire North Shore arts community with an opportunity to showcase their talents. SAF is organized by Salem Main Streets, the Creative Collective, and a collaboration of Salem organizations, including the City of Salem, Salem State University, Salem Food Tours, the Phoenix School, Salem Public Space Project, the Salem YMCA, Peabody Essex Museum, and the Salem Arts Association.

The Salem Arts Festival is supported in part by a grant from the Salem Cultural Council and an additional grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Support for the annual Fest Fundraiser was provided by Salem Five Bank and by the gracious support of its other creative partners, including Retonica Event Lighting, The Scarlet Letter Press, and Octocog Marketing and Design.

Visitors interested in attending the Salem Arts Festival can find easy access to the downtown by public transportation or parking at one of the many downtown lots in the City. For more information and for the full festival schedule, please visit www.salemartsfestival.com.

A special thanks to over 30 businesses that supported the 10th anniversary of the festival through financial support and other means, the list of supporters can be found on the festival website.

Winner of Best Arts Festival in the 2017 Best of the North Shore (BONS) awards, the Salem Arts Festival strives to showcase and support as many artists, creatives and performers as possible on an annual basis and throughout the year.

We hope to see you join the celebration this weekend in Salem Ma!

Not So Secret Handshake in Salem: Volunteers and Arts Festival

Business Spotlight, History, Resources, Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping, Volunteer Opportunities No Responses »

May 102018

Volunteering is an art. It is a creative gift that you give to your community. And what better gift to give to the Salem community than to be a volunteer at the upcoming Salem Arts Festival, June 1-3. It is a great combination!

This year is promising to be better than ever, with our TENTH ANNIVERSARY, record-breaking number of participants, all types/styles of art-making activities, a new collaboration with Creative Collective/Creative North Shore as co-organizers, and our fifth annual community art project, Bee to Brick. Come BEE a part of the best arts festival on the North Shore (possibly beyond? who’s to say.)!

With more activities than ever, we also need more volunteers than ever. We will probably be adding some additional shifts and needs as the festival gets closer, but for now, sign up early and often.

PLEASE SIGN UP HERE – http://signup.com/go/HpiioHC

Please note that we welcome and encourage volunteers of all ages for Salem Arts Festival. In fact… 10-year olds have been some of our best volunteers in the past! Never too early to instill in young people the value— their value— in community volunteering. This is also a great way for new residents to become part of our community, so spread the word to anyone you know who’s just moved to town.

Don’t forget to share the call for volunteers with your friends, family, neighbors, and that guy you sit next to on the train every day!

Save the Date – we will have an orientation for volunteers on Sunday, May 27 at 5 pm at Old Town Hall for any who can attend (yes, sorry, it’s Memorial Day weekend). We are also holding a benefit night for the Salem Arts Festival at Flatbread Pizza on Tuesday, May 29, so give your oven a rest that night and come grab a pie to support the festival!

Volunteerism improves health by strengthening the body, improving mood, and lessening stress in participants. And don’t forget, seeing art is also a soothing experience.

Questions? Interested in additional ways to help? Let Kylie Sullivan, our overworked but ever-smiling leader know! Call 978-744-0004 x115.

10 Years and Still Growing. Salem Arts Festival Returns in June

Salem Event, Salem Festivals, Salem Shopping, SMS News, Volunteer Opportunities No Responses »

Apr 102018

“Creativity takes courage.” – Henri Matisse

“Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” – Albert Einstein

Art has stood the test of time as an expression of the times within which it was born. As the World Art Day celebration approaches on April 15^th, here in Salem we look ahead to our own celebration of expression with the Salem Arts Festival, scheduled June 1-3, 2018.

For World Art Day, galleries and museums throughout the world are encouraged to have extended hours, hold conferences and panel discussions during the day, and host celebratory events in the evening. April 15^th is the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, a renowned painter, sculptor, writer, innovator, philosopher, and thinker.

Over 5,000 people regularly attend and take part in our family-friendly festival, transforming downtown Salem, MA into an opportunity for the arts community to showcase a wide range of talents, not dissimilar to DaVinci. The Salem Arts Festival includes a gallery of juried artists’ work in Old Town Hall, outdoor stage venues for performance and dance, an artist and artisan street fair, a collaborative public arts project, and much more!

“Salem is busting at the seams with visual artists, musicians, poets, dancers, makers, and creative individuals of all types. It’s one of the many reasons people love living and visiting here,” said Kylie Sullivan, Executive Director of Salem Main Streets, co-organizer of the Salem Arts Festival.

“In celebration of our 10-year anniversary, we will focus the festival around the Salem Main Streets themes of ‘Live, Work, Play.’ I’m very excited to see the different ways we can use the arts to explore what it means to live, work, and play in Salem.”

For the 5th year, a community-built public art installation is being included as part of the festival. Bee to Brick, this year’s community art project, embraces the “Live, Work, Play” theme by celebrating some of the hardest “working” bugs out there – pollinators! Bee to Brick will install playful swarms of several hundred “bees” around the festival area, created entirely out of recycled plastic bottles and other reusable plastic pollution. After the project, the bees will be transformed into “bricks” by Phoenix School students for their “Bottle Brick Project.”

Community groups are being sought who want to participate in a workshop, and/or individuals who can come to one of our Monday night workshops. All ages and abilities are enthusiastically encouraged to contribute, no skill set required. More information at www.salemartsfestival.com/bee-to-brick

The Salem Arts Festival is especially pleased to announce that the festival, initially run as a project of Salem Main Streets, has expanded this year to be run in collaboration with the Creative Collective.

The Creative Collective is a group of invested creative professionals with the mission of connecting creativity, community and commerce. John Andrews, Creative Director, shared his thoughts about this partnership. “I am very excited to partner on another project with Salem Main Streets and expand the impact that the festival has on Salem and support the over 100 artists, performers, artisan vendors, and creatives that participate in this dynamic event.”

The Salem Arts Festival is organized by Salem Main Streets, the Creative Collective and a collaboration of Salem organizations which provide support for the festival, including the City of Salem, Salem State University, Salem Food Tours, the Phoenix School, Salem Public Space Project, the Salem YMCA, Peabody Essex Museum, and the Salem Arts Association.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Salem Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. The festival also relies on the gracious support of its other creative partners, including Retonica Event Lighting, The Scarlet Letter Press, and Octocog Marketing and Design.

If you would like to support this dynamic annual cultural mainstay for its 10th anniversary celebration, please contact Robyn Gianoppolo at robyn@creativesalem.com or visit salemartsfestival.com/support

For more information about the Salem Arts Festival, please see www.salemartsfestival.com or contact Kylie Sullivan at kylie@salemmainstreets.org or (978)744-0004 (x115)

(All photos from 2017 Salem Arts Festival, Facebook page)

Salem Arts Festival Fundraiser to Feature Fabulous Fashions from Local Boutiques

New Businesses, Salem Event, Salem Festivals, SMS News No Responses »

Mar 152018

Ten years!!! The Salem Arts Festival is celebrating that milestone this year. You won’t want to miss a minute of it, including the exciting night of local fashion, food, drink, and fun known as Salem Arts Festival Fashion Show Fundraiser, Friday, April 6, 7-10pm

The Fundraiser will be held “upstairs” at the beautiful and historic Old Town Hall at 32 Derby Square.

“The Fashion Show gets bigger and better every year, and it’s really the perfect way to introduce the dynamic, locally-focused energy behind the Arts Festival,” says Kylie Sullivan, Executive Director of Salem Main Streets (SMS), the community nonprofit that founded the Festival.

Featuring fabulous fashions from local boutiques (full list to be posted online soon), attendees can also expect fantastic outside-the-box accoutrements and surprises from local creative genius Grace & Diggs, and other local makers, on the catwalk. In line with the Salem Main Streets themes of “Live, Work, Play” (inspiring this year’s festival), boutiques will model looks that display the amazing variety and versatility of fashion options that can be found in Salem. Lighting and ambience by Retonica will completely transform the historic hall throughout the night.

Karen Scalia of Salem Food Tours returns as the mastermind behind all fashion show logistics and staging, and with the Creative Collective (previously known as Creative Salem) officially joining Salem Main Streets as co-organizer of the Festival, locals know that means it’s going to be an incredible night. Farmers’ Market-inspired snacks by Ferreira Foods, drinks by North Shore Bartending, a photo booth, and a great raffle will make the evening complete.

Why a Fund-Raiser?

“The need for financial support is critical for the success of the festival, which welcomes 6,000 attendees to downtown Salem every June,” explains Sullivan. “We are committed to keeping the festival free and open to the public, but we’re also committed to paying our artists – that means we need to raise some substantial funds.”

Advance tickets are $35 per person with a cash bar, with $50 VIP tickets available for an assigned seat on the catwalk and a free thank you treat. Tickets purchased the day of the event are $30, with $45 for VIP seats – but this event regularly sells out, so we don’t recommend waiting!

Purchase tickets over the phone at 978-744-0004 x115, in person at 265 Essex Street (Salem Main Streets), or online at https://salem-main-streets.ticketleap.com/fashion-2018. Proceeds directly benefit the Salem Arts Festival.

About the Salem Arts Festival

The 10^th annual Salem Arts Festival will be held June 1^st to 3^rd, 2018. SAF is organized by Salem Main Streets, the Creative Collective, and a collaboration of Salem organizations, including the City of Salem, Salem State University, Salem Food Tours, the Phoenix School, Salem Public Space Project, the Salem YMCA, Peabody Essex Museum, and the Salem Arts Association.

The festival is supported in part by a grant from the Salem Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. The festival also relies on the gracious support of its other creative partners, including Retonica Event Lighting, The Scarlet Letter Press, and Octocog Marketing and Design.

Artists Invited to Express Themselves at Salem Arts Festival

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May 092017

Express yourself artists of the North Shore! There is an open invitation from the 2017 Salem Arts Festival to local visual artists: “submit your work for the juried gallery at Old Town Hall” during the 9^th annual festival that takes place this year, June 2-4.

Artists may submit up to 3 pieces; at least two of which must be for sale. Dates/times for drop off at Old Town Hall (32 Derby Sq.) will be May 26 from 5-8pm and May 27 from 9am-noon. Applicants will be informed of jury decisions by Sunday morning, and works not accepted must be picked up by Sunday evening or Monday afternoon.

Hung artwork may not exceed 36″ in any direction (including frame) and must be wired to hang – no sawtooth hangers. Larger artwork must have an easel or a stand. While installations are welcome, be mindful that Salem’s historic spaces come with some limitations.

You have time, but not a lot as the juried gallery will be selected by an on-site review process to be held the weekend before the festival, May 26-29.

This special exhibit is to be judged and juried for prizes by a panel comprised of individuals from the Salem arts community and beyond.

Over 5,000 people regularly attend the family-friendly Salem Arts Festival, transforming downtown Salem, MA into an opportunity for the arts community to showcase a wide range of talents: painting, photography, sculpture, dance, music, writing, film, new media, performance, theatre, poetry, and more!

The Salem Arts Festival is organized by Salem Main Streets and a collaboration of Salem organizations which provide support for the festival, including the City of Salem, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem Arts Association, and Creative Salem. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Salem Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

For full details of requirements and regulations, please see the admission form at http://salemartsfestival.com/juried-gallery/.

For any other Salem Arts Festival-related information, please see www.salemartsfestival.com or contact Kylie Sullivan at kylie@salemmainstreets.org or (978)744-0004 (x115).

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