The Show Must Go On!


Meet a group of professional artists who make their living by selling their work at Fine Art Festivals throughout the country. They thrive on meeting their patrons face-to-face and value the opportunity to establish relationships, both proving to be an impossibility right now. They are a motivated, resilient, and unique group who choose to sell their work under highly unpredictable circumstances. Many miles of travel, up-in-the-air show schedules, challenging weather, and unforeseeable sales are just a few examples of what these artists face every time they do a show. Please join these artists who have not lost their passion to create, but have lost the human element of interacting with you, their customer. They understand that art buyers have a curiosity about the work they purchase, and that patrons love to hear stories about the inspiration behind a piece and how it was made.

The show must go on! For the past 24 years, the Art In The Pearl Fine Arts & Craft Festival has been a community event set in the North Park Blocks of Portland’s Pearl District on Labor Day Weekend. However, with the outbreak of COVID-19 and ongoing restrictions for large gatherings, virtual events have become the only way forward in 2020. Nationally Recognized as one of the Best Fairs: The Art Fair Sourcebook, the definitive guide to the best juried art and craft fairs in the United States, ranked the Art In The Pearl Fine Arts & Crafts Festival as one of the top 20 art fairs for the past ten years.

With most art festivals cancelling this year, artists, demonstrators and musicians are in desperate need of exposure and sales to maintain livelihood. Therefore, the volunteer board of Art In The Pearl is creating a digital experience to bring the festival to life online and connect them with our audience of 100,000 people! Tom Dumke of Thomas William Furniture is one of the artists included in the virtual art fair. "One of my favorite shows to do and I appreciate the time and the effort that Art In The Pearl is committed to host this virtual art fair" said Tom Dumke. Highly Competitive Jurying Process: Applicants from across the nation and Canada vie for the 120+ coveted booth spaces. In 2019 artists came from as many as 30 states across the country, including as far away as Florida. Of the 130 exhibitors, a total of 90+ came from outside the Portland Metro area.

This event will feature 120 juried artists with images of their artwork, contact information and online links for purchasing their work. Because Art In The Pearl is an educational non-profit, the online experience will also feature videos of artist demonstrations in their studios and stay-at-home art projects for the whole family to create. It wouldn’t be the same without dance and music performances, so a lineup of videos will also be included. This online show can be viewed online at: www.artinthepearl.com/virtualshow

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