The 2022 Ann Arbor Art Fair is Here
Is this the first time in a couple years?
No it was held last year and was very busy.
It was held last year also, but for only three days (Thurs/Fri/Sat) - same as this year.
Please, dear God in heaven, we can't take it anymore. Please let football start again. Hear the cries of agony that come in the form of MGoBlog threads about art and the FIBA Asia Cup. Your people have wandered in the desert for so long some of them have started talking about letting UConn into the B1G. Let us into the promised land that is the Big House, a land flowing with beer and touchdowns.
I hope you own this as an NFT by now, drjaws.
if i knew how to make this an NFT i would
Wire me $50k and I’ll make it happen tonight.
Some of us enjoy multiple things.
For native Ann Arborites though, none of those things is the art fair. ;)
Haha understood. More bucking the sentiment that any other topic besides football is not worth talking about.
Speak for yourself
I dunno. As a Huron high school kid in the 70s I remember it as a paradise of great women.
Much more importantly the Michigan Brewers Guild Beer Fest is this Friday and Sat. Going for the first time this year.
I was considering getting super sweaty walking through large crowds of entitled tourists to buy a stained glass lamp shaped like a turtle for $4000, but decided against it.
When I was a jaded record store clerk at Schoolkids (RIP) we would say "it's not art and it isn't fair."
When I lived in A2, I often heard the complaint that Art Fair wasn't art and it wasn't fair.
I never investigated that allegation for myself.
Beat me to it.
Beat me to it, also.
My mom was an artist and regularly had a booth at the AA Art Fair. She had three looms and created beautiful wall hangings and wearable garments. Very beautiful, but yes, they were pricy. I have one hanging in the house right outside my office.
We used to drive back "home" from Chicago to meet my parents at the fair and walk around. At that time, there were also plenty of nicknack "art" that didn't cost as much.
The actual term for "knick-knack art" is "schlock." And there is more than enough of that to go around at the "art" fair.
Don't forget to live life like it's an art project.
I miss it. Summer in AA is great, and the Art Fair is one of the many reasons.
I lived in Ann Arbor for part of the summer between my sophomore and junior year. Definitely great for the weather but the town just felt so deserted. In retrospect, I wish I committed that entire summer to my study abroad program like I should have.
S University yes. Main Street no. That is hopping on Fridays and Saturdays. But yeah, the area around South U is populated mainly by tumbleweed when the kids aren’t in town.
Please delete this post before my wife reads it. Thank you in advance...
*MGoWife
Going to art fair!? Time for the annual tradition of escaping town ASAP you mean.
I worked at the One-Eyed Moose on Main Street in the 1990s. For me, Art Hell was all about hordes of sweaty bossy oldsters demanding constant refills of iced tea with one hand and holding their bird-on-a-stick with the other and giving loose change for tips.
TL;DR It wasn't art, and it wasn't fair.
I was there today, and I can understand why so many AA residents hate the the thing. The sheer volume of humanity descending on the town, mucking up traffic and making the simplest trip anywhere a gigantic pain in the ass.
I can relate. I lived in Ferndale for 25 years and learned to hate the Woodward Dream Cruise. Loud-mouthed idiots invading my town and revving their toys at all hours. I learned to flee the area as soon as I could.
So I get it. I still go, but I get it.
I went once, about 25 years ago. That was enough.
It's only going to be 88 degrees today. Not nearly warm enough for a visit to the Art Fair today.
Dixboro's Christmas in July is today too. WTH? The football season can't start soon enough...
I will be selling custom stick figure drawings for $175. Come check me out in front of The Chop House until they escort me off the premises!
a lot of people say "LOL" when they mean "i smiled...a little. with like half of my mouth" but you sir, made me literally chuckle aloud so thank you
Can’t wait for the insane traffic near downtown and people forgetting how to drive on the west side
No one has mentioned my favorite art fair routine: Walking behind someone pushing a stroller with two-inch wheels and a screaming toddler.
And a couple of huge, hairy, panting dogs.
Art you say? Best when it imitates real life :)
Psh... that's so derivative.
Any suggestions on what to do - and what to avoid?
I’m not going this year, but - am planning to go next year.
I value greatly the insight and perspectives of this austere group who comments here.
Thanks - and Go Blue!
Sure. Try to go early in the morning. Really early. Check the forecast for thunderstorms (an art fair tradition, along with high temperatures and humidity).
Or (if you live nearby) go in the evening. That's what I normally do. Parking is easier, the temps cool down and it's not as crowded.
FWIW, the complaints about AA's Art Fair remind me of New Yorkers complaining about tourists, until the pandemic hit and NYC lost those $ billions and the vibrancy—value added?—of people who do and see things differently.
All good suggestions. Here are mine:
The B School parking structure on Hill Street is convenient, away from congestion and usually overlooked.
The john's at the Art Museum and the Law Library are vastly superior options to waiting in line for a porta potty that's been fermenting in 90 degree heat for three days. Both are downstairs from the main entrances. You may not thank me for this tip, but your wife or girlfriend (or both) will.
Your wife and girlfriend already thanked me. Booooom!
I just took advantage of the clean and comfortable restroom at the art museum!
You're welcome.
What to avoid? Well, there was a really bad 80's cover band playing west of State, around Maynard and William. I passed them as they were strangling "Jessie's Girl."
What to do? Stay home.
What to avoid? The Art Fair.