Objectives of The Great Lakes Arts Fair

One of the objectives of The Great Lakes Arts Fair is to educate patrons and attendees of the event on what good art entails. People who decide to purchase items at the event get gallery-quality items at a lower price. In addition, they get the opportunity to engage and have a conversation with the artist.

One of the artists featured in the event was Southfield’s Jamie Hillard, whose photographs of Michigan scenery and landmarks appeared in one of the booths of The Great Lakes Arts Fair. Another artist featured in the event is Dennis Dodson. Dodson creates contemporary paintings using canvas and acrylics. He refers to his paintings as visual music since they are non-representational. When you first experience Dodson’s work, you either love it or you don’t. Most of the artisans featured in the event love their work and have produced a variety of items. They get to do something with them and try to share them with the community.

Artists at The Great Lakes Arts Fair are more than focused on making a sale. They are eager to engage attendees of the event and are delightful to talk to when you step into their booth. One of the main characteristics of the artwork is that they are quite unique and will draw your attention from miles away. Others remind you of something familiar and you might recognize scenes in some of the paintings or photographs. It is not uncommon to hear attendees of The Great Lakes Arts Fair saying that some of the displays reminded them of their childhood days.

In a way, The Great Lakes Arts Fair provides a platform for patrons to buy things that they otherwise could not find in another store. Since The Great Lakes Arts Fair is a professionally judged event, most of the artists participating in the event are professionals. As one artist put it, The Great Lakes Arts Fair is not a garage sale, it is one of the most elegant marketplaces for artwork. Since the artists involved are professionals and have a passion for their work (many of them work in the long term care industry), they create some of the best and unique masterpieces you have ever seen.

Regardless of whether you are an art enthusiast or novice, attending The Great Lakes Arts Fair is one of the most delightful ways to spend your time in Michigan. You get the opportunity to experience beauty in its most creative form. This is a great event to attend if you are looking for an activity to do with family and friends There is really a little bit of everything for everyone at The Great Lakes Arts Fair. There are lots of fun art activities for kids and tasteful artwork for connoisseurs. It is also an ideal place to go on a first date with your significant other, more so if you both enjoy art. The Marketplace Cafe offers the perfect place to relax over some glasses of wine or cocktails. You will also get the opportunity to learn a great deal about art including the art creation process, as well as what good art entails. Most of the items may delight you, and you might even end up purchasing that perfect artwork that has been missing in your home. The friendliness and openness to a conversation of the artist at The Great Lakes Arts Fair make it a delight to attend the event. So if you are looking for one of the best activities to do around Michigan, attending The Great Lakes Arts Fair is something you should consider.

2020 Highlights of The Great Lakes Arts Fair

The most recent edition of The Great Lakes Arts Fair was held in 2020. Some of the highlights included the Mimosas & Bloody Mary’s, Grand Gallery entrance, artist’s demonstrations, Generation Next Art Displays, and the Marketplace Cafe.

Mimosas & Bloody Mary’s

In 2020, Mimosas & Bloody Mary’s made an entry into the Grand Gallery of The Great Lakes Arts Fair. The event received a warm welcome from the patrons who were more than happy to grab a drink and experience the tasteful art showcase alongside their family and friends.

Grand Gallery Entrance

In 2020, The Great Lakes Arts Fair teamed up with the Landscape Group to create an immensely delightful event experience. In the 2020’s edition of The Great Lakes Arts Fair, patrons entered through an exquisite Grand Garden Gallery that showcased an expansive seasonal display featuring selected works from various artists. The Grand Gallery entrance featured sculptures framed in towering rustic panels and florals and paintings that complemented the genuine village atmosphere of The Great Lakes Arts Fair.

Art Demonstrations

Not only did the patrons get the opportunity to buy original and beautiful artwork, but they also had the rare chance to learn about the art creation process. The 2020 edition of The Great Lakes Arts Fair featured dozens of artists’ demonstrations over the weekend in mediums such as ceramics, glass, jewelry, as well as other materials.

Generation Next Art Displays

In 2020, The Great Lakes Arts Fair continued its partnership with local school districts to showcase student art in the event. One of the goals of The Great Lakes Arts Fair is to recognize the talents of students and give them a platform to showcase their original work. The Great Lakes Arts Fair also helps students develop an appreciation and understanding for the fair community and art industry as business endeavors. Children attending the show also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of fun art activities.

Marketplace Cafe

Patrons had the opportunity to enjoy some of the most delightful fares that the Marketplace Cafe has to offer. The Marketplace cafe featured various tempting bistro-style delights that even the person with the highest form of restraint could not deny their palate. The cafe also featured artisan cocktails and wines. The Marketplace Cafe is at the heart of the event’s show floor, and embodies the feel and look of a cozy street cafe.

The event also featured over one hundred and fifty of the region’s most talented craftspeople and artists in a single indoor location that is accessible and climate-controlled. Attendees of The Great Lakes Arts Fair browsed and shopped paintings, jewelry, woodworking, glass, metal, photography, apparel and textiles, ceramics, sculptures, as well as some selected specialty items. Patrons also had the opportunity to experience live demonstrations. The event offered an unofficial start to the warm weather Art Fair season and a great chance to witness new artwork before making its way to the streets across the region’s art fairs. The Great Lakes Arts Fair’s Facebook page also featured some artists.

Casual shoppers and connoisseurs alike enjoyed strolling through the booths showcasing handcrafted items by some of Michigan’s finest artists. Some of the artworks included painting stretched over canvases, photographs displaying Michigan’s colorful landscape, beadwork embroidered onto a fabric, and metal sculptures that have been subjected to heat to achieve new shapes and colors. The pieces were quite unique and delighted attendees of the event. The great thing about purchasing artworks at The Great Lakes Arts Fair is that you not only buy something of great value and beauty but you also get the opportunity to support local artists and the local community in the process.

An Introduction to The Great Lakes Arts Fair

The Great Lakes Arts Fair is one of Michigan’s fastest-growing indoor art events. The event’s attendance has more than doubled since the art fair was launched in 2009. The Great Lakes Art Fair provides artists in the region a weather-free, regularly scheduled, reliable marketplace to showcase their most beautiful and freshest work, and it is quickly gaining popularity as a destination event for patrons and artists alike. The Great Lakes Arts Fair provides patrons, craftspeople, and fine artists an expansive zonal marketplace, combining desirable and exclusive works from national, local, and regional artists with a beautiful village marketplace setting, a delicious cafe with a delightful fare, and a seasonal motif.

Since its launch, The Great Lakes Arts Fair has always been a fun and warm celebration of the beautiful artist society, and an essential local networking and showcase event as well. The event is a tribute to the establishment’s patrons and friends who have put in a lot of effort in supporting the event.

For more than a decade The Great Lakes Arts Fair has been hosted by the Suburban Collection featuring over 200 booths of crafts and fine art for purchasing and viewing. Highlights of The Great Lakes Arts Fair include the Town spa where patrons can enjoy pampering, student art featured in the Generation Next Art Displays, art for purchasing, artist demonstrations, performances from local musicians, daily fashion shows, the bistro-style Marketplace Cafe in a cozy atmosphere, and the Grand Gallery featuring seasonal art and decorations. Admission to The Great Lakes Arts Fair is free for kids aged 12 and below, and $7 for adults. There is lots of parking space available, so you don’t have to worry about driving in circles around the parking lot looking for a spot to park. And the best thing about the parking is that it’s absolutely free.