What’s New with Arcadia’s Monthly Art Markets?
Within the past couple of years, Arcadia’s art markets have exploded into even more incredible opportunities for students and staff alike to gather, create art, and for students to sell their very own creations! What used to be “First Friday” art sales (taking place on the first Friday of every month) have become entire art markets; where these sales used to host around ten vendors at tables outside of the Spruance Gallery and Little Theater space, these events now have between 30-50 artists selling their wares spread throughout entire outdoor areas or taking up the entirety of Spruance indoors.
These student vendors are often paired with other eye-catching events; for example, Arcadia’s theater department has showcased previews for their upcoming shows at art sales, such as hosting the cast of “Urinetown’s” rendition of “Run, Freedom, Run!” with Blake McGregor ’27 leading vocally as the character Bobby Strong. Another art market event sometimes includes live drawings of live animals – just last year, a drawing session was hosted as a real red-tailed hawk stood in front of participants, being sketched within the Spruance drawing studio! At the latest sale taking place in November, attendees were invited to join a Zine making workshop led by the talented Gertie Smith ’27, make keychains containing their own artwork, and were encouraged to peruse vendor tables, which went from Thrall Gallery to both Spruance studios.
It’s not often you can find hand-crafted goods, custom commissions, free pet portraits, and stunning posters all in the same place on campus. But the art markets deliver all these and so much more! Not all the art must be paid for, either; some vendors offer free stickers or trinkets for visitors to take home with them. Art-making sessions called Tiny Art Workshops are hosted monthly in Spruance for any student to come in and create tiny pieces of art. These can be pins, figures, jewelry, or anything small enough to fit inside of “Her Majesty,” the Tiny Art Machine! Similar to how a bubblegum dispenser operates, the Tiny Art Machine is set up at art sales for all visitors to take home a bit of joy, free of charge.
Throughout my time signing up to sell, I have created so many kinds of work, depending on what I enjoy making at the time and what people really enjoy seeing on the table. I used to create “Acorn Buddies,” which were figurines made entirely out of acorns, sticks, seeds, and other fallen outdoor artifacts, all collected by yours truly. I also dabbled in making large Worry Dolls, a kind of doll common in South America, used to take away the worries and troubles of its owner. Currently, I have been focusing on Pokémon-themed wares! I use Model Magic to create a Pokémon figure, then go over it with acrylic paint and Mod Podge. It’s a blast working with these figurines and watching them each go to happy homes at the sales!
Of course, I am just one vendor at an event hosting tens more! My partner, Akéla Swartley ’27, and my good friend Simon Ludwig ’27 both signed up and joined me at the same table. Typically, only two artists share a table at once, but we make it work, and it’s a lot more fun to sell right alongside your friends. Simon adds that the markets “have been a great opportunity to learn how to market your art. They’re a lower-stress event that also provides a chance to communicate and collaborate with fellow artists.” He’s absolutely right, with tons of artists stopping by each other’s tables, often spending the money that they’ve earned right then on other artists’ work or participating in art trades with one another.
I mentioned earlier that free pet portraits have been provided in previous sales (say that three times fast!); these wonderful drawings are provided by the talented Willow Edmonds ’25, an art major who works closely with the entire department through being a manager within Spruance Exhibitions. Willow has been “participating in the art markets since 2023, when the events began to run consistently.” They shared that “Seeing the vendor community grow, as well as the general support from Arcadia students, staff, and faculty, has been really exciting. It’s always a great time to meet new people, chat about art, and support fellow vendors.” When it comes to their free portraits, Willow had this to say:
“It was such an exciting opportunity from the Art + Design Department to sponsor me to offer these portraits for free in conjunction with the Theater production. I have consistently offered live pet portraits at these markets on campus, but I feel that I finally have the quick drawings down to a science. It’s a way for me to practice life drawing– something very important to my artistic practice– while seeing the critters everyone has to offer. It is such a joy being able to draw something so personal to someone, and hearing special requests always warms my heart.”
Keep an eye out for fliers advertising the next sale – no matter what budget you have, or if you plan not to spend a single cent, come stop by! If you are interested in signing up to sell your own artwork, please reach out to David Guinn, the Art Events and Marketing Coordinator, at guinnd@arcadia.edu!
