folkfest st.pete
folkfest st. pete 2009 is co-sponsored by:
The City of St. Petersburg
The Pinellas County Department of Cultural Affairs
Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater
The Florida Division of Cultural Affairs
Bank of America
I Want A Walk Pet Services
Courtyard by Marriott &
The YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg
Hungry Howie’s Pizza
folkfest is free and open to the public
Click here to download the folkfest-artist-application.pdf
folkfest-artist-vendor-agreement.pdf
Creative Clay Presents
3rd Annual folkfest st. pete September 26 – 27
Street Festival Features Folk Art & Music From Around the Country
St. Petersburg, FL, Creative Clay, making the arts accessible to all in the community, announces its third annual folkfest st.pete, a street folk art festival featuring the work of folk, outsider and visionary artists and musicians from around the country. folkfest st. pete will take place September 26th and 27th on Central Avenue between 11th and 13th Streets, right in front of Creative Clay, 1124 Central Avenue in St. Petersburg. “We are very excited to host some outstanding artists from around the country, and showcase what our member artists can do,’ said Grace-Anne Alfiero, Creative Clay Executive Director. “We also have a series of folk art, music, storytelling and dance workshops and unique collaborations that the entire community will appreciate. This is a wonderful opportunity to see the great work that we do here at Creative Clay.”This year, folkfest st.pete has gone green! Included are local green organizations, recycling bins and new partnerships with local green initiatives.
folkfest st.pete was conceived by Ms. Alfiero to raise awareness regarding the immense value of making art accessible to all people and to attract art collectors from around the world to the city of Saint Petersburg. Due to recent state budget cuts, folkfest has transformed into a critical fundraiser for Creative Clay. Her expressed desire has been and continues to be to draw as many people to Creative Clay’s front door step as possible to bring exposure to 15 years of creativity, passion and artmaking serving literally hundreds of community members with a variety of abilities and challenges. Outsider artists are self-taught artists who create art outside of the mainstream art culture and without training. Visionary/Intuitive artists, considered Contemporary Folk Art, are art created by self-taught artists who create spiritual, prophetic, and/or religious work. folkfest st.pete is designed as a series of folk art, music, storytelling and dance workshops and unique collaborations sponsored in part by the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs and the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Visitor’s Convention Bureau to include presentations and performances by folk artists from around the country. Creative Clay’s own Gina K., Candace N., Galynn L. have banded together in support of the publication of Gina’s “Girl’s Powers” book! The Artlink 2009 teams and Transition programs will also be displaying and selling their work with staff support. Jim Shores, Mr. B., Youth Arts Corps, PARC fine arts and the clay artists at Craftsman House among many other local, regional and national artists will be exhibiting their work.
In addition to folkfest’s extensive visual art booths, food vendors,children’s entertainment and artist workshops, the festival will host a performance stage and dance floor featuring local, regional and national performance acts.
Artwork below by folkfest 2009 artist Kelley Bentley Ash of Sweet Gravy Studio
Kelley Bentley Ash is confirmed to attend folkfest st.pete 2009!
Southern folk artist, Kelley Bentley Ash works out of Georgia and her amazing paintings will fill one of the booths at Creative Clay’s folkfest 2009! Kelley paints with whimsical flair and her work is both childlike and sophisticated with colorful flowers, fantastical birds and peaceful homes. Kelley has collectors from Puerto Rico, Washington, New York, Illinois, Arizona, California, as well as all across the south. She’s been featured in Cooking With Paula Magazine (food network’s Paula Dean.) Kelley says, “It makes my blood pressure rise (in a good way) to know that my work is in your house and you look at it everyday and by doing that I am in some way a part of your life… …remember you can’t take it with you when you die but if you wind up in heaven, find me and I can paint you another one for free.” That ought to keep her busy up there! See her work at folkfest on September 26th and 27th, 2009.
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