Mar

6

2011

More than 200 of the nation’s finest artists exhibiting

by: Claire Bloxom 817-336-6824 [email protected]

MORE THAN 200 OF THE NATION’S FINEST ARTISTS EXHIBITING AT 2011 MAIN ST. FORT WORTH ARTS FESTIVAL

The festival is the largest arts festival in Texas and 6th largest in the U.S.

FORT WORTH, TEXAS – March 7, 2011 – More than 200 artists, selected from 1,501 applicants, will be exhibited at the 26th annual 2011 MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival (MAIN ST.) The free, four-day event will take place April 14-17, bringing thousands of visitors and locals to downtown Fort Worth. Known as the crown jewel of Texas’ events, MAIN ST. is ranked as the largest arts festival in Texas and the 6th largest in the U.S. by The Harris List and the Art Fair Sourcebook, two authoritative reference works on the American art-show circuit.

Exhibiting artists work in media ranging from sculpture, painting, ceramics and photography to woodcarvings, glasswork, jewelry, fashion, multimedia and more. More than $4 million worth of art is expected to sold during the festival, at prices ranging from $50 for signed, limited edition pieces to thousands for original works.

Some of the finest, most successful artists in the country will be in attendance at this year’s festival, including the majority of last year’s Award Winners, such as:

  • Marian “Mimi” Damrauer (Chicago) — Best of Show Winner 2010 — Award-winning fiber artist Marian “Mimi” Damrauer is best known for her textile collages series of circles, lines and squares. All of Mimi Designs’ art is handmade and incorporates her colorful hand-dyed fabrics. She also has a travel series that incorporates ethnic fabrics from her trips and collections from Scandinavia, India and Africa;
  • Marvin Blackmore (Durango, Colorado) — Merit Award 2010: Ceramics — Blackmore is the creator of the two-tone black-on-black style of pottery hand etching through multiple layers of clay slips revealing intricate designs; 
  • Larry Fielder (Velarde, New Mexico) — Merit Award 2010: Wood — Over a 35 year career, Fielder has specialized in everything from architecture, functional form and decorative objects, and is now working primarily in wood with carved and sandblasted surfaces on vessels and wall pieces that are then stained or painted and waxed; 
  • Chris Dahlquist (Kansas City, Missouri) — Merit Award 2010: Photography — Dahlquist’s photographic mixed media has won many awards, and is in hundreds of private, corporate and municipal collections;
  • Harold Siefert (Houston) — Merit Award 2010: Sculpture —Siefert is a fine artist specializing in cast and welded metal sculptures for both commercial and residential projects;
  • Anthony Jacobus (Fort Worth, Texas) — Best Emerging Artist 2010: Photography —Serving as stylist, costumer and director, Jacobus’ work makes each photo like a mini-production. He has been making photographs for more than 15 years and continues to seek out new ways to re-invent his work;
  • Michael Brown (Antioch, Illinois) — Juror Award 2010: Digital —Brown’s hybrid optical art printmaking process can be used to create either animated graphics or three-dimensional imagery;
  • Jeffrey Cannon (Austin, Texas) — Juror Award 2010: Drawing/Pastels — Cannon’s large palette of soft pastels are often handmade on paper or prepared board, working from the background forward and finger-blended, using no fixatives during the process, to ensure the preservation of details and color harmonies; 
  • Rene and James Engebretson (Hudson, Wisconsin) — Juror Award 2010: Glass — Partners in life and in a collaborative art process, the Engebretsons have been creating nature inspired glass works for more than 20 years;
  • George Raab (Millbrook, Ontario, Canada) — Juror Award 2010: Graphics and Printmaking — Raab’s landscape intaglios prints incorporate etching, aquatint, engraving, photo-etching, mezzotint, drypoint and watercolor;
  • Harry Roa (Sarasota, Florida) — Juror Award 2010: Jewelry —All of Roa’s designs are handcrafted using a combination lost wax process and fabrication;
  • Steve Edgar (Tallahassee, Florida) — Juror Award 2010: Leather — Edgar’s goal is to bring back old world craftsmanship, creating one-of-a-kind items including briefcases, handbags, and doctor bags with antique closures that had been collected over the years;
  • Elaine Unzicker (Ojai, California) — Juror Award 2010: Metalwork — Unzicker combines stainless and anodized aluminum chain mail interlocked by hand to create unique purses and wearable art;
  • Richard Curtner (Cathedral City, California) — Juror Award 2010: Mixed Media — Curtner is skilled in numerous mediums of art and specializes in textual collage (word collage) presentations; 
  • Julie Havel (Denver) — Juror Award 2010: Painting — The contemporary painter uses five to six layers of acrylic paint, combinations of warm and cool colors, shapes and an array of heavy textures including sand, papers, leaves and gels.

For additional event information and a complete list of exhibiting artists, visit MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival online at www.MainStreetArtsFest.org. Festival information can also be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/mainstreetartsfest, on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mainstreetfest, or by downloading the free MAIN ST. iPhone application directly from your Apple device or from the iTunes App Store.

ABOUT MAIN ST. FORT WORTH ARTS FESTIVAL

MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival celebrates its 26th year in 2011 and is presented by Coors Light. Official Sponsors for 2011 are CHASE, Sundance Square, Green Mountain Energy, University of Texas at Arlington and XTO Energy. Media Sponsors include CBS 11/TXA 21 andD Magazine, as well as radio stations Mix 102.9, 106.1 KISS FM, 95.9 FM The Ranch and Country Legends 92.1. Supporting Sponsors include Dallas/Fort Worth Professional Musicians Association, and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T).

The festival is produced by Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives, Inc., a 501 (c) 3 organization formed in 1988 to complement the work of Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. and the Public Improvement District by provide a funding pathway for charitable, educational and public-purpose activities, such as community festivals, residential development and park management. Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives, Inc. produces MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival and the Chesapeake Energy Parade of Lights, which includes lighting ceremonies for the city’s Sundance Square Christmas tree. These events have an economic impact of more than $19 million annually and attract thousands of visitors to downtown Fort Worth each year, all building to a sterling celebration of 26 years on MAIN ST. in 2011. For more information, visit www.dfwi.org.

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