Market Collective sprawls over two weekends with arts of all sorts
Market Collective presents a two-weekend holiday edition this month expanding its usual format due to overwhelming demand from area artists and musicians who want to get in on the action. Angela Dione and Angel Guerra are the twentysomething’s behind Market Collective and since they organized their first event in the summer of 2008 they’ve continued to invent and experiment with the formula.
Dione and Guerra however have stuck close to their mission — to showcase and sell the work of local artists artisans and musicians and to strengthen Calgary’s art community. Neither Dione nor Guerra are artists but they are intuitively creative and have tuned into what people are making and what audiences want.
Before they embarked on the project Dione worked with a shoemaker in Boston and plans to continue with an apprenticeship in Italy. Guerra is the more musical of the two — she once held concerts at her home and is connected to the local scene.
Market Collective’s main objective is to create a network of support and a framework for an eclectic mix of young musicians artisans and artists to present their work at the bi-monthly market. The collective isn’t a static entity however with about 50 artists and 25 musicians all vetted by Dione and Guerra who will participate December 5 and 6 and a different roster of artists who will showcase their work the following weekend. While there is no shortage of unique items to buy and covet — affordable art fashion jewelry tea and more — Guerra emphasizes that it’s not a tradeshow. “We really just like people from the community to come out and meet other people and get exposed to new artists and ideas.”
And people are coming. The first day-long event in the summer of 2008 was attended by nearly 2000 people which is remarkable considering that other centres like galleries and museums are battling to get visitors through their doors. “People felt connected right away” says Dione.
After the first year the market moved from the Carpenters’ Union Hall to the much larger old Ant Hill building in Kensington. The new location has a second level with 1700 square feet of gallery space where at the October market interactive displays by Quickdraw Animation and Telus World of Science were two of the features.
Word of mouth the momentum of social media posters by Pete and Jo Illustration with a distinctive esthetic and most importantly memorable experiences at the market keep people coming back. At the summer market the duo designed an indoor park with sod and at the next market they created a fall-themed installation with leaves a rake and pumpkins. Photographer Nicoleirene Dyck who was onsite to take complementary shots of visitors playing and posing and will return to the upcoming market to shoot photos that can be made into classic Christmas cards.
Upcoming musical highlights include Lauren Mann a Calgary-based singer-songwriter back home after a tour of Western Canada and Jordan Klassen who released his debut solo album earlier this year.
Aside from the markets the collective also gets involved in the community with a sponsorship initiative that helps artists fund their practice. So far there have been three beneficiaries — Alberta College of Art and Design grad and illustrator Peter Komierowski aspiring fashion designer Danielle Bobrel and photographer Chris Magatas. The money collected from the $2 admission at the markets (increased from $1) and a portion of the modest fees artists pay for tables have gone towards gift certificates to Kensington Art Supply Vistek studio space at Art Central and a 10-day exhibition at the Art Gallery of Calgary. The collective also supports the Calgary food bank and invites visitors to substitute a food donation for their twoonie at the door.
In 2010 Dione and Guerra plan to present concerts and films with community partners in addition to the weekend market events. And as more people get involved the energy and excitement of what Dione and Guerra have been building is expected to grow.
