The 70th Greenwich Village Art Fair (GVAF) takes place Saturday, Sept. 15 and Sunday, Sept. 16—rain or shine—on the grounds of Rockford Art Museum (RAM) at Riverfront Museum Park, 711 N. Main St., in downtown Rockford, Illinois. The annual two-day outdoor event features 115 juried artists, live music by local musicians, an artisan marketplace, children’s art activities, and more. Established in 1948, Greenwich is the longest running art fair of its kind in the Midwest. Presenting sponsor is Midland States Bank; premier sponsors are the Dean Alan Olson Foundation and Joan Stonecipher.
Gates are open 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Sunday. Admission at the gate is $7 for adults, free for children 12 and younger. Advance tickets are $5 and are available at any Midland States Bank location and at the Rockford Art Museum Store. Ticket proceeds help support RAM programs throughout the year.
Exhibiting at this year’s fair are 115 artists from around the region and across the nation. Types of artwork represented include paintings, jewelry, sculpture, glass, ceramics, textiles, photography, wood, mixed media, and more. Artists compete for awards on the first day of the fair, where their work will be viewed by 2018 Judge George William Price, an arts administrator and curator who is currently the Collections Director at the University Club of Chicago. Learn more about him at georgewilliamprice.com. Awards, including Best of Show and Judge’s Choice awards, will be presented Sunday, Sept. 16. List of exhibiting artists at end of article.
For the fifth year in row, the Rockford Mass Transit District Trolley bus will transport fairgoers from parking lots off site at no charge (open to close, both days). Special events at the fair include Greenwich After Hours (Sat, 6–8 p.m.) at Point Bar inside the fair, Magpie Bistro brunch both days, and the annual Art Raffle, announced Sunday, with raffle prizes of original artwork donated by 10 exhibiting artists.
Greenwich Main Stage, sponsored by Mary’s Place, features LIVE MUSIC all day, both days, by local musicians including Long-shot, Espinosa & Coffey, Karandeep Singh, Blues Hawks/Dave Hanson & Friends, Derek Luttrell, the Lukewarm Club of America, Post Facto, Miles Nielsen and Kelly Steward. All sets included with fair admission.
Located near the Greenwich Main Stage, Village Pub serves grilled fare favorites, sodas, teas, and LaMonica brands. Local and regional vendors at the Greenwich Artisan Marketplace this year include Rockford Woodcrafts, Candle Crest Soy Candles, Dip’n Good Dips, PRP Wine International, Soap of the Earth, and Canine Crunchery. Food and drink vendors include JavaMania Coffee Roastery, We-B-Popp’n Kettle Korn, Hey Brothers Ice Cream & Waffle Cones, Pig Minds Brewing Company, and more.
Kortman Gallery Point Bar features signature cocktails, mixed drinks and fine wines. Point Bar hosts GREENWICH AFTER HOURS on Saturday night (6–8 p.m., with DJ Dangeruss, cash bar; free admission, open to the public). NEW this year, Magpie Bistro will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., both days. Point Bar has LIVE MUSIC both days, with Jim Hagerty, Mark Sturm on Saturday, and Dan Dunnavan and Dan Maguire on Sunday. The RAM Membership Booth is also located near Point Bar, where visitors can easily join the art museum or renew their membership for the upcoming year.
2018 Art Raffle tickets, $5 each or 3 for $10, are available at the GVAF Info Booth. Drawing will be held Sunday, Sept. 16, at 4 p.m.; ticketholders need not be present to win. Exhibiting artists who have contributed their artwork for the raffle include Shawn Barbagallo (raku ceramics), Steve Brewster (glass sculpture), Rebecca Cortez (jewelry), Jeff Hart (wood), Kiaralinda (metal), Charlotte Fung Miller (painting), Susan Otterson (fiber), Sarah Reed-McNamara (block print), Katie and Chris Robleski (photography), and Lisa Williams (jewelry).
Sponsored by the Better Business Bureau of Rockford, the Emerging Artist Booth features local emerging artists selected by Kortman Gallery—Nick Cashmere, Steve Nofsinger, Brock Pieper, and Brandy Smith—along with its own Local Emerging Artist Award sponsored by the gallery and J.R. Kortman Center for Design.
Kids can make their own take-home art based on this year’s theme, “Monster Mash,” at the popular Creations by Kids tent. Hands-on art activities are $1 each, or $5 for all 6. The Creations tent opens both days at 10 a.m. and closes one hour before the fair closes.
Admission to the fair also includes FREE admission to Rockford Art Museum; several exhibitions are on view including the 2018 Rockford Midwestern Biennial (through Sept. 30), which features 68 paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, sculptures, mixed media and more by artists from across the Midwest that were selected by 2018 Juror Aron Packer from more than 600 submissions. Also on view are Form, with Paul Cadmus, Mark Chatterley, John Coplans, Steven Hudson, Mary Seyfarth, and David Wilson, through Jan. 13; Warrington Colescott: Satire, through Jan. 6; Dan Ramirez, through Jan. 6; Terttu Uibopuu: E.S.E. (East South East), through Nov. 11; and Juan Fernandez, through Oct. 21.
Presenting Sponsor: Midland States Bank; Premier Sponsors: Dean Alan Olson Foundation, Joan Stonecipher. Supporting Sponsors: Aqua-Aerobic Systems, Rockford Mass Transit District, Contributing Sponsors: Better Business Bureau of Rockford, Illinois State Credit Union, Kortman Gallery and J.R. Kortman Center for Design, Perryville Pet Hospital, The Rock River Times, Rockford Mutual Insurance Company. Award Sponsors include Lon and Dick Behr, Friend of Rockford Art Museum, Rockford Association for Minority Management, WilliamsMcCarthy LLP, Wipfli, Women’s Art Board of Rockford Art Museum, River District Association, Kortman Gallery and J.R. Kortman Center for Design.
The 70th Greenwich Village Art Fair Steering Committee includes David Potter (Chair), Stephanie Caltagerone (Co-Chair), Barb Berman, Christy Evans, Mary Jo Hare, Jerry Kortman, Jan Mackey, Anthony Mencarini, Tammy Neff, Tricia Potter, Raymone Roberts, Doc Slafkosky, Pam Solberg, Kevin Talbott, and Rick Zwicky. GVAF is also staffed by community volunteers throughout the two-day event. Ticket proceeds help support Rockford Art Museum.
Learn more at rockfordartmuseum.org or facebook.com/greenwichvillageartfair, and follow GVAF during the event at instagram.com/greenwichrockford #greenwichrockford.
FULL LIST OF 2018 EXHIBITING ARTISTS
Exhibiting artists include: VALERIE ABRAMAT Winnebago, IL; GERRI AGER Madison, WI; MICHAEL ANDERSON + COLIN MURRAY Madison, WI; KLAUS ASHER Rockford, IL; SHAWN BARBAGALLO South Beloit, IL; DAVID BARNES North Aurora, IL; DAN BASSETT Madison, WI; JAMES BECIA Mount Horeb, WI; DEBRA BET Budd Lake, NJ; JACQUELINE BEVAN Round Lake Beach, IL; VILMA BIRBILAITE Chicago, IL; STEVE BREWSTER Poteau, OK; SHARON BURNS Madison, WI; BRENNA BUSSE Minneapolis, MN; ANDREW BUTLER Santa Cruz, CA; LAURIE SCHIRMER CARPENTER Valparaiso, IN ; RHONDA CEARLOCK Vandalia, IL; LYNN + STEVE CEBULA Palm Harbor, FL; RON CLEVENGER Machesney Park, IL; REBECCA CORTEZ La Grange Park, IL; RICK CORTEZ La Grange Park, IL; VENUS CRAMER Elmhurst, IL; JESSICA CURNING-KUENZI Blue Mounds, WI; PATRICIA DISANTIS East Haddam, CT; DEBRA EHMANN + MARTIN ROWE Waterloo, WI; PAMELA ENGLAND + FRANK BORELLI Lake Park, FL; NEIL ESTRICK Grayslake, IL; DANIEL FENN Decorah, IA; MARC FERGUSON + SUZANNA DIMARCO Naples, FL; SHARON FUJIMOTO Amherst Junction, WI; JULIE FURGAT Western Springs, IL; AARON FURUSETH + ANH NGUYEN Minneapolis, MN; DIANNE + CHUCK GEIER New Lenox, IL; BARBARA GEURINK Eau Claire, WI; JANICE GILKEY Fort Atkinson, WI; KELLY GRIFFIN Rockford, IL; RONALD GROBERT Warrenville, IL; TOM GUIRL Belvidere, IL; JAN + MIKE GUSSIN Kildeer, IL; KAREN VAUGHN HARDING Rockford, IL; JEFF HART Aurora, IL; PATRICIA HELLER Greenfield, WI; DEBBY HENNING Sharon, WI; LOU HII Indianapolis, IN; MARK HILL Middleton, WI; DALE + GAIL HORN Estero, FL; INGRID HYDE Rockford, IL; DON HYSON Winnebago, IL; MEGAN JOHNSON West Bend, WI; KIARALINDA Safety Harbor, FL; NORM KNOTT Rockford, IL; JASON KOTECKI Madison, WI; KENT KRAUS Santa Fe, NM; JOHN LAMAR Rockford, IL; MARILYN LAMAR Rockford, IL; LINDSEY LEHMAN Morton Grove, IL; BILL LEMKE Waukesha, WI; CYNTHIA LINNABARY Rockford, IL; HENRY LITCHFIELD, Peoria, IL; NOVA MACKENTLEY + CHRIS NERI, Paradise, MI; ; JILL MARTIN-GOLDEN Roscoe, IL; MELISSA MASON Plover, WI; MATTHEW MAYES Birmingham, AL; TAYLOR MAZER Grand Rapids, MI; EILEEN MCDANIEL Wautoma, WI; KARI MCDONALD Rockford, IL; LAURA MEDDAUGH Madison, WI; JOSH MERRILL Downers Grove, IL; ALLISON + JONATHAN METZGER Duluth, MN; HEATHER MILES Indianapolis, IN; CHARLOTTE FUNG MILLER Mukwonago, WI; SUZANNE MILLER + NIKKI COOPER Madison, WI; STEPHEN MINECK Vinton, IA; ERIKA MOCK Duluth, MN; ANNE MORRIS Moline, IL; ZACHARY MORY Glen Ellyn, IL; MICHELLE MOSS Stevens Point, WI; MIKE MURRAY DeForest, WI; DON NEDOBECK Milwaukee, WI; HIRONOBU NISHITATENO Loves Park, IL; SUSAN OTTERSON Janesville, WI; ANITA PETERS Barrington, IL; CHRISTINA PLICHTA Minneapolis, MN; ANN PREY Nekoosa, WI; PAUL PROROK Reedsburg, WI; JAN RAVEN Wausau, WI; SHARON + BILL REDINGER Madison, WI; SARAH REED-MCNAMARA Rockford, IL; BARRY REITHMEIER Rockford, IL; KATIE + CHRIS ROBLESKI Milwaukee, WI; KIM RUSSELL Spring Green, WI; JILL SCALES Elk Grove Village, IL; BABS SCHNABL Lake Geneva, WI; WILLIAM SCHUELER, JR. Hartland, WI; PAMELA SIEHR Madison, WI; ALAN SIEVERS Batavia, IL; REBECCA SKOW Iowa City, IA; CAMERON SMITH Murphysboro, IL; TERESA SORIANO Middleton, WI; JULIE SPANGLER Galena, IL; JOHN SPERRY Maysville, GA; JOHN STOECKLEY Louisiana, MO; STEPHANIE TANTILLO Marengo, IL; LINDA THEVENOT Naperville, IL; PATTY TIRY Palmyra, WI; THOMAS TRAUSCH Woodstock, IL; JON WALTON Middleton, WI; ADAM WEISS Fort Calhoun, NE; ALISON WEUST + JOE TALLMAN Rockford, IL; LISA WILLIAMS Algonquin, IL; KIM WILSON Fox Point, WI; VERN YAN + LINYING WANG Toronto, Ontario; SAMUEL YAO Ann Arbor, MI; and BETSY YOUNGQUIST Rockford, IL.
