Press Release
April 29, 2008
Art in the Park Tradition Comes to An End
Organizers for Clinton’s Art in the Park
announced the 2008 art fair has been cancelled. The fine arts
fair would be 46 years old this June.
“It is with much regret that we have made
the difficult decision to cancel Art in the Park,” stated Stacy
Kinkaid, Art in the Park board president. “As an all-volunteer
board that has carried on this wonderful art fair tradition beginning
in Clinton 46 years ago, we are deeply saddened that it will end,
however, we prefer to focus on the many wonderful years that the art
fair was able to prosper in our area, cultivating an exciting
atmosphere for artistic expression.”
“This was a very difficult decision reached
after a great deal of thought and consideration,” Lori Caffery,
Art in the Park board member said. “Due to various outside
factors, including the state of our economy, the number of artists able
to participate in Art in the Park has been declining over the years,
and it has now reached the point where it is no longer feasible for our
board to offer a fair consistent with what our area deserves and has
come to expect.”
Times change and so has the environment for Art in
the Park. Following a national trend, Art in the Park, along with other
long-standing art fairs, particularly in small- to medium-sized
communities have been struggling to attract artists whose wholesale and
retail markets have greatly changed and expanded over the last several
years. Artists who traditionally looked to community art fairs as a
primary source of sales now have many other options for marketing their
work such as specialty stores, local boutiques, galleries, national
home stores, and internet retail outlets.
“I would like to take this opportunity to
thank the former and current Board members of Art in the Park for
making this prestigious event available to our residents and visitors
over the past 46 years. You provided a wonderful quality of life
venue and introduced many artists and art forms to our community.
Thank you, too, for the many volunteer hours that each and everyone
invested in making the Clinton area a better place to live. Art
in the Park will certainly be missed from the annual tourism calendar
of events” said Julie Allesee, President of the Clinton Area
Chamber of Commerce.
Clinton Art Association founder, Hortense Blake,
started the art fair in 1963. The first fair was held around the
fountain at Riverview Park in conjunction with the newly founded
Riverboat Days. Blake’s brother-in-law was commodore that year
and encouraged her to organize an outdoor exhibit that included local
artists. She named the exhibit Art in the Park. Artists hung
their paintings on the wrought iron fence surrounding the fountain. Not
yet famous high school student Larry Jon Davis displayed his
watercolors and sketches the first year Art in the Park was held.
Art in the Park was held in various locations over
the years, including many years in Lyons’ Foursquare Park.
In 1995 the fair had outgrown the small park and moved back to its
origins at the more spacious Riverview Park where it has been held
since. It was at this time that the fair was expanded to an arts
festival, including live music and street theater.
Art in the Park was produced by an all-volunteer
board during its entire existence. Local families enjoyed bringing
their children to the fair where they could make art projects and
display their own artwork at the Young Master Student Art Competition.
“We sincerely appreciate the financial and
in-kind support that has been provided by local businesses and citizens
to help us produce Art in the Park,” expressed Jayne McGrogan,
board vice president. “Your dedication to this event has meant a
great deal to us all.”
“We thank those individuals and
organizations who have shared in the tradition of Clinton’s Art
in the Park over the years. We have thoroughly enjoyed the many hours
of work and fun that have gone into the creation of this first-rate
fair over the decades, and we will all treasure the friendships and
memories that have been made as a result of this celebrated
event,” stated Stacy Kinkaid.
