Art On The Square Founder Looks Ahead To 2021 Show By Suzanne Koziatek Contributing writer
A
fter the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of this year’s Art on the Square, founder and executive director Patty Gregory is disappointed, but looking ahead to the fine art show’s next milestone. “I think we made the right decision, as much as it broke my heart,” Gregory said. “Our hope is that people come back next year even stronger for our 20th anniversary – that we’ll have double the success next year.” Gregory and her team made the difficult decision in late March to cancel this year’s show, which had been set for May 15-17. “We started thinking about it back in February, but it took us about three weeks to make the decision,” she said. “We didn’t take it lightly.” The annual juried fine art show has an enormous economic impact in the Belleville area – more than $2 million a year is attributed to the art show via hotel rooms, food sales and other related business. Thanks to years of careful cultivation, the show also makes an impact in other ways. Artists showing their work that weekend spend time teaching in Metro East classrooms. Large sculptures have been installed throughout the
area, courtesy of the organization’s Sculpture in the City program. Over the past 19 years, the show has promoted Belleville as a city that loves the arts.
letter of thanks from the National Association of Independent Artists thanking them for treating the artists so fairly.
As she learned more about the virus’ expected arrival in this area, Gregory reached out to stakeholders – artists, sponsors and longtime patrons – to see if rescheduling the show later this summer would be a workable solution.
Gregory said Art on the Square’s benefactors have been equally supportive of the event. Some of the show’s biggest sponsors told Gregory to keep their contributions and put the money toward next year’s show. Purchasers of Art Cash – gift certificates that can be used at the show – were given the opportunity to cash their certificates in, but many chose to hold on to them (they will all be good at next year’s event).
Unfortunately, she said, all the possible dates would have conflicted with other major US art shows that her artists had committed to already. And it wasn’t certain that the coronavirus outbreak would be contained even by late summer. With major expenses coming due, Gregory and her committee decided to cancel. In doing so, they took steps to soften the blow to artists, who would be facing other cancellations as well. “We reimbursed the booth fees to the artists,” she said. “They were shocked that we did that – a lot of shows aren’t doing that. And we offered them an automatic invitation to next year’s show.”
Gregory still hopes to do something special for at least one group – the 2020 high school seniors from schools across the Metro East who would have been part of Art on the Square’s high school art exhibit and competition. “We’d like to do an exhibit, just for the seniors, since they won’t have an opportunity to show again.”
As a result, she said, she expects most of next year’s booths to be assigned this year.
Next year’s show will be a big one – 20 years after beginning on Belleville’s Public Square, the city will celebrate two decades of Art on the Square’s artistic impact. This year’s show was supposed to be French-themed, and Gregory has several large models of the Eiffel Tower sitting in storage.
Art on the Square also paid $50 to each artist to help defray their expenses. “It isn’t much, but we thought it would help.” Gregory said Art on the Square received a
“I’m trying to think what I’ll do with five or six Eiffel Towers,” she said with a laugh. “We might have to figure out a theme that will still have Paris in it.”
Marketplace Magazine | Spring Issue 2020 | marketplacemagazineonline.com | 19
