The 57th Street Art Fair, the Midwest’s oldest juried art fair run by a committee of dedicated volunteers, will mark its 79th year featuring nearly 200 artists, kids’ activities, live music presented by Buddy Guy’s Legends, and Food Trucks for attendees to enjoy delicious bites from Chicago.
57th St. Art Fair is held on the streets of the historic Hyde Park neighborhood and offers art lovers a fantastic opportunity to view and shop original works of art from around the country. Join 20,000 others and kick off the summer festival season with Chicago’s TOP summer art fair and partake in one-of-a-kind shopping, speak with the artists about their creative process, enjoy live music, family friendly activities and more.
Whether you are looking for original works of art in glass, jewelry, leather, photography, printmaking, painting, sculpture, wood, ceramics and fiber art - you are sure to find something handmade, special and one of a kind at the 57th St Art Fair.
WHEN:
Saturday, June 6, 11am-6pm
Sunday, June 7, 10am-5pm
WHERE:
57th Street, Between Woodlawn and Kenwood Avenues
Hyde Park, IL 60637
WEBSITE:
ADMISSION:
Free
SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES:
Facebook: 57th Street Art Fair
Instagram: 57startfair
ADDITIONAL HISTORY:
The 57th St Art Fair was founded by silversmith and gallery owner Mary Louise Womer in 1948. Her studio, The Little Gallery, was a local hangout where artists would gather, socialize and drink tea. Wanting to create an event where they could showcase work to the community Womer established the Fair and artists used trees and fences along 57th Street for artists to hang their works. Fifty-one artists paid 50 cents to participate and included paintings, jewelry, glasswork and ceramics and Womer and her husband turned a profit of $500 for the weekend.
From there, she established a 57th Street Art Fair committee comprised of dedicated community members that established policies to validate the artists, ensuring they reap complete monetary benefit of their sales. This is a model still utilized and honored today and in keeping with Womer’s policies, all works are juried and must be original art, with no limited edition prints or reproductions sold.
