Hillsdale is preparing for its annual Art Around Town event on Sept. 17 from 9 am to noon. The popular art festival, the second of its kind this year, is hosted in local businesses and the open air market, which is sponsored by the Hillsdale Business Association. All artists are welcome to set up galleries and sell their artwork.
“Art Around Town is a real community project that brings out Hillsdale’s true colors,” said Mary Wolfram, City of Hillsdale Director of Economic Development.
Art Around Town was partly sponsored by a grant, written by Wolfram, from Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, which covered all printing and advertising costs for the event, so artists and businesses can participate free of charge. Businesses who donate will become sponsors and will be featured on the Art Around Town t-shirts.
“There are great artists around Hillsdale many don’t know about. This event allows them to showcase and sell their work. The Hillsdale County Art Guild and Gallery 49 are two lovers of art independent from the College, who benefit the community with their skills,” Wolfram said.
Heather Tritchka, a ‘98 graduate from Hillsdale College, is one of many artists featured in the event. Tritchka is molding a life-size bronze statue of Algonquin Princess Winona, whom Lake Winona, beside the Simpson fields was named after. Tritchka’s statue is estimated to cost $30,000.
Art Around Town hopes to attract and enthrall the public with both the artwork and the picturesque architecture of Hillsdale.
