Talking about how the community supports Appel Farm got me to thinking about how Appel Farm’s Festival lends support to the community. I don’t necessarily mean in terms of gas and food purchased locally though that is certainly an aspect of the support. One aspects of the mission to support artists is manifested in the free admission craft artists are given to the craft fair.
What this means is that the festival doesn’t take a cut of the money they make, nor do they charge the crafters an admission or registration fee. The artists take home whatever money they make. The craft show is juried however to ensure diversity in the offerings. The offerings have to be original works. Work created from kits or people acting as vendors for other people’s work is not allowed. As one might imagine, even with these restrictions, there are always more people applying than there is room to accomodate. (Only slots for 60 vendors.)
The wares cover a wide range of disciplines. There is a sheep to shawl demonstration (shear the sheep, card the wool, weave the wool), ceramics, metal jewelry, hand made musical instruments from around the world, weavings, paintings and blown glass to name a few.
Appel Farm also has a partnership with the Perkins Center for the Arts (perkinscenter.org). They built a wood fired kiln on Appel Farm’s grounds and they use it to create ceramics in their classes and Appel Farm’s campers get to fire their creations in it over the summer. As part of a grant program, artists are chosen to participate in the creation of works in the kiln (which is actually only one of three wood kilns on the Mid-Atlantic seaboard). There will be an open exhibit in the Appel Farm art studio so their kiln work may be displayed. If they want to sell anything, they must have a separate display outside so that the other artists don’t feel they received preferential treatment.
It may not be making a huge or immediate change in the lives and fortunes of these artists, but the free exposure and the support they receive from the festival certainly facilitates the process a little.
