New downtown Asheville artist market set for Spruce Street in Asheville

Share

Here is the relevant information from a recent email about a new downtown Asheville art market, the Spruce Street Market, set to start in July:

Andrew Montrie

– Spruce Street Market
-Muddy Knees Design and Production
-The Updraft Fine Art Gallery
-Asheville Art in the Park

“…a new artist vending opportunity recently created with the help of the Appalachian Craft Center. The Spruce Street Market will start on July 5th 2014 and run each Saturday until September 20th. The Updraft Fine Art Gallery and the Appalachian Craft Center will manage the market with support also provided by The Renaissance Hotel, The Laurel of Asheville, Romantic Asheville and other local businesses.

When I first started Asheville Art in the Park in 2009, it was to create a regular vending opportunity for myself, my friends and my peers. I didn’t realize then what a struggle it would become just to find a good central location for a regular art market.

When searching everywhere for a private location came up short, I was introduced to a public option by the City of Asheville and we started vending in Pack Square. An ordinance was also passed that year limiting the number of times we could close a public location to 6. The best 6 vending Saturdays were determined by a survey of local arts business and Asheville Art in the Park was born into a newly completed park.

Last year the 6 day ordinance was lifted in favor of a new point scoring system for events inside the city limits. The Appalachian Craft Center, a regular Asheville Art in the Park vendor, is located on the flattest, most centrally located street in downtown. Spruce Street is currently undergoing a makeover. New sidewalks and newly planted trees are being installed improving on an already excellent place for a street market. “