208 of the Nation’s Foremost Contemporary Artists Exhibiting at 2016 Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival in April

by enilon

New for 2016, MAIN ST. is introducing a “People’s Choice Award” that will be awarded through social media voting

FORT WORTH, Texas (March 13, 2016) – Returning to Downtown Fort Worth for its 31st year, MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival (MAIN ST.) is set to highlight 208 of the nation’s foremost contemporary artists on April 14-17, 2016. More than $4.6 million worth of art is expected to be sold throughout the four-day festival.

Artists chosen to exhibit their work were hand-selected by five prominent jury members from approximately 1,431 applications, sent in from around the world. There are 15 art medium categories, including ceramics, jewelry, mixed media, printmaking, drawing / pastels, digital, fiber, leather, painting, sculpture, glass, metalwork, photography, wood, and the very popular “emerging artists” category, featuring new, local artists from the greater Dallas-Fort Worth region.

Nearly $11,000 is granted to artist award winners each year, including one “Best of Show” winner, one “Best Emerging artist” winner, seven “Merit Award” winners, and 14 “Juror Award” winners. New for 2016, MAIN ST. is introducing a “People’s Choice Award” that will be awarded through social media voting. Festivalgoers and fans of MAIN ST. on Facebook are encouraged to cast their votes for their favorite artist. Voting will run the length of the festival and the winner will be announced on Monday, April 18.

Award winners from the 2015 festival returning in 2016 include:

  • Terry Evans (Overland Park, Kansas) – Best of Show Award 2015/Wood – Booth 624: Using a process that involves laminating various hardwood lumber and natural and dyed veneers into a solid block or build, Terry Evans strives to highlight the visual elements of color and contrast in his work while maintaining the integrity of wood as a material.
  • Pat Lee (Pasadena, Texas) – Best Emerging Artist 2015/Sculpture – Booth 609: Pat Lee prefers clay as his medium, in which he combines or individually utilizes glazes, stains, paints and patinas to finish his sculptures.
  • Thomas Dumke (Stone Bank, Wisconsin) – Merit Award 2015/Wood – Booth 814: Inspired by the furniture craftsmen of 17th and 18th centuries, Thomas Dumke only uses solid hardwoods to create pieces with a modern flare and sized proportionally for today’s needs.
  • Marvin Blackmore (Durango, Colorado) – Merit Award 2015/Ceramics – Booth 803: Marvin Blackmore creates intricate, hand-etched pottery by applying a two-tone, black-on-black technique that adds a layer of colored clay slips.
  • Andrew Sovjani (Conway, Massachusetts) – Merit Award 2015/Photography – Booth 307: Known for blurring the lines between traditional photography and painting, Andrew Sovjani uses black and white negatives to create photographs that are chemically altered in the darkroom.
  • David Conn (Fort Worth, Texas) – Merit Award 2015/Printmaking – Booth 318: Using a photograph as a starting place, David Conn specializes in hand-pulled, fine art prints, creating a composition of a positive/negative image of a white line and black line.
  • Shaari Horowitz (Sharon, Connecticut) – Merit Award 2015/Wood – Booth 616: Guided by an Old World palette, Horowitz’s patterns and imagery derive from classical sources such as medieval manuscripts and ancient textiles.
  • Matthew Hatala (Danielsville, Georgia) – Merit Award 2015/Wood – Booth 412: Using rare and domestic wood from around the world, Hatala concentrates on turning and drying the wood repeatedly before glazing to create a unique wood creation.

MAIN ST. is annually produced by Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives, Inc., and is free to the public. The official hashtag for 2016 is #MainSt2016. Festival hours for 2016 are:

  • Thursday, April 14, 2016: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
  • Friday, April 15, 2016: 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.
  • Saturday, April 16, 2016: 10 a.m. – 11 p.m.
  • Sunday, April 17, 2016: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.

For additional event information, visit MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival online at:

ABOUT MAIN ST. FORT WORTH ARTS FESTIVAL

The MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival celebrates its 31st year in 2016 and is presented by Blue Moon Brewing Company®, which is distributed throughout the DFW Metroplex by Andrews Distributing Company. Official sponsors for 2016 are the Tarrant Regional Water District, Sundance Square, The University of Texas at Arlington, Tarrant County College and Wells Fargo. Media sponsors are the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (The T), and the Trinity Railway Express (TRE). Radio sponsors are 92.1 HANK FM (KTFW-FM) and 95.9 The Ranch (KFWR-FM). Supporting sponsors are the Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau, Frost Bank, and the Music Performance Trust Fund. Hotel sponsors are Omni Fort Worth Hotel, The Ashton Hotel, Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel, Courtyard Fort Worth Downtown / Blackstone, and Hilton Fort Worth. For more information, visit www.MainStreetArtsFest.org.

ABOUT DOWNTOWN FORT WORTH INITIATIVES, INC.

Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization formed in 1988 to complement the work of Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. and the Public Improvement District by providing 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 the annual MAIN ST. Fort Worth Arts Festival and the annual XTO Energy Parade of Lights. These events have an economic impact of more than $28 million annually and attract thousands of visitors to Downtown Fort Worth each year. For more information, visit www.DFWI.org.

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