ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 30, 1996 TAG: 9605300037
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KAREN ADAMS STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on May 31, 1996.
Two artists were omitted from the graphic for this weekend's Sidewalk
Art Show that appeared in Thursday's Extra. Ann Harrison will be at
sections F-73 and F-74 on Salem Avenue. Nancy E. Murphy Hauser will be
in section F-112 on Salem Avenue.
Also, the following names were misspelled in the graphic: Martha
Mayo, Bonnie Neuhoff, Lillian Brooks, Sally Rabe and Cheryl Doloby.
Once upon a time, 32 artists spread out their work in the open air and sunshine of downtown Roanoke.
It was a lighthearted affair, like the sidewalk art shows of Greenwich Village.
The people cheered. They came from far and wide. That was in 1959.
Every year after that, the art show grew. The artists brought in musicians to make it more festive. The people cheered again. ``Let the festival begin!'' they cried.
Years later, the little art show has bloomed into a mega-festival in Elmwood Park and beyond, a sprawling, 11-day jumble of music, food, stunts, crafts - and acres of art. Many Roanokers say this is a good thing; the more, the merrier.
But some folks, particularly those who make or view art, have felt increasingly overwhelmed.
``Some artists didn't like all the activity,'' says Jobil Cole, chairwoman of the Sidewalk Art Show, which is sponsored by the Docent Guild of the Art Museum of Western Virginia. ``The enrollment was dropping, and when I asked people about it, many of the artists said they didn't care for the carnival atmosphere.'' It was crowded, they told her, and the music was so loud that they had to shout to each other.
So this year, the art show is moving a few blocks to the City Market area.
Festival director Wendi Schultz says, ``With the museum show expanding, there was no room in the park for them to do anything more and there was no room for us to do any more. It's a good move for both of us.'' Festival officials scheduled their fine arts and crafts show for the first weekend so as not to compete with the Sidewalk Art Show.
The new location will be larger, quieter (with soft background music piped in from The Fret Mill music store), and closer to the museum, which will be open during the show, Cole says. In the past, ``a lot of people who came to the show didn't even know where the museum was. Even a lot of the artists didn't know.''
But it has always been an art museum affair. The show serves as a fund-raiser for the museum's education program. Nearly 100 percent of the artists' registration fees go toward the program, and the docents, who support the museum by receiving the public, leading tours and more, work throughout the year to organize and promote the event.
Cole says the move also will bring people to the market merchants, who often see less traffic than they'd like during Festival.
This year, the art show, on its own again, is even bigger - up from 167 artists last year to 210.
Artists' opinions on the issue appear to range from neutral to mildly irritated.
Painter Eric Fitzpatrick, a regular exhibitor since 1976, says he's enjoyed the crowded Elmwood Park experience. ``It was always chaotic and fun,'' he says.
Nevertheless, he's pleased with the new location, and says it will allow people to concentrate on art in a single area. ``The docents have been very sensitive to what the artists want,'' he says.
``I always thought the Festival atmosphere was good,'' says Marcia McDade, whose drawings and prints have been in the show since 1974. ``Because you have all those people who come into your booth who might not otherwise see your work and they say, `Oh, look at this.''' She adds, ``But I also believe in change. Change is good, too.''
One development - exciting for some, confusing for others - is that this year, with the departure of the art show, the Festival added fine arts to the craft show in Elmwood Park (held last weekend). Schultz says the expansion simply reflects the national trend toward showing both arts and crafts. ``It's important that Festival as an entity offer fine arts as one of its elements,'' she says. Festival also added a wearable art show during the second weekend.
``It's a real mess,'' says Ed Bordett, urban landscape painter and 20-year veteran of the Sidewalk Art Show. ``The art show came first. Then Festival jumped in with arts and crafts.''
Some artists, like Bordett, chose to exhibit with the art museum only; some exhibited last weekend at the Festival and will spend this weekend on the market.
``I hope they're both successful,'' says Bordett. ``But the pie might only be so big.''
Cole says that some artists have suggested they choose another weekend for the Sidewalk Art Show. But the show has always been held on the first weekend of June; changing it might mean losing some artists from around the country who have their calendars marked long in advance.
This year, though, there's a variety of art and plenty of it.
May they all live happily ever after.
LENGTH: Long : 103 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. Kirk Avenue (left, shown looking from downtownby CNBtoward the Municipal Building) was the site of the Sidewalk Art Show
in 1966, under the leadership of John Will Creasy. 2. Some artists'
subjects were eclectic (above). 3. A guide to the 38th annual
sidewalk art show (graphic)