Art in the Wilds Draws more than 3,500 Art Buyers and Enthusiasts to Kane, PA
Second Annual Juried Fine Arts Show Boosts Economic Development through Tourism
October 21, 2008 - A festive atmosphere and fine art greeted just over 3,500 people who came to Kane, PA for the second annual Art in the Wilds juried fine arts show. The enthusiastic crowd converged in Kane’s Evergreen Park June 28thand 29th to browse and buy from the creative offerings of 30 juried artists, and enjoy tasty treats from multiple food vendors.
“We are truly delighted with the results of our second annual show. We had a strong crowd all weekend, and the quality of art this year was just phenomenal!” said Marilyn Blackmore, Co-Director of Art in the Wilds. “Our board of directors met to review the show, and we voted unanimously to continue on with our third annual Art in the Wilds in 2009.”
The Art in the Wilds show is one of the only juried art shows ever produced in McKean County. To be accepted as a vendor in a juried art show, artists must submit works for scoring to a confidential ‘jury’ of art experts. Juried art shows therefore offer a very high quality of original art, among a diverse variety of media. Art in the Wilds offered art for sale ranging from acrylics and oils, to watercolors, drawing/pastels, metal, glass, clay/porcelain, photography, fabric/fiber, wood, leather and jewelry.
The largest regional juried art show, Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, takes place in State College annually in July, and draws over 125,000 people. It started out 40 years ago with a few artists as a way to help stimulate sales for downtown merchants.
“It was important to us that Art in the Wilds provide a cultural attraction for residents and tourists, but it was equally important that we provided a positive economic impact for the town of Kane,” said Dave Blackmore, event Co-Director.
Over 400 individual art purchases were made, with art price tags ranging from $10 to $7,000 and up. Top towns for art-buyers ranged from Kane, to Erie, Pittsburgh, Ridgway, State College, Warren, Youngsville, Bradford, Dubois and St. Marys. Several purchases were made by out-of-state residents in town for Kane’s annual high school alumni weekend. The Art in the Wilds committee advertised the show extensively via print ads in newspapers, art and culture publications and radio within a 2 hour drive from Kane.
“Once again this show was awesome and you should pat yourself on your back for another job very well done,” said Yasmin Brown, a jewelry maker exhibiting at Art in the Wilds. “Your committee should be congratulated for not only bringing friendly folks out, but folks that buy as well.”
Artist Michelle Hoff commented that her sales this year far surpassed her sales at Art in the Wilds in 2007. The Art in the Wilds committee has exhibiting artists fill out comprehensive evaluation forms at the end of the show.
“Based on the 2008 artist evaluation forms we received, we are happy to report that all artists noted they would like to participate again in 2009,” said Marilyn Blackmore. “That’s a great vote of confidence for us. The artists love Kane, and they are successfully selling their art.”
The Governor’s Task Force Report on the Pennsylvania Wilds and subsequent studies by the Allegheny National Forest Vacation Bureau have concluded that tourism is the key driver to economic development in McKean County. Tourism is also the second largest industry in Pennsylvania. The volume of visitors to Kane for Art in the Wilds and the sale of art clearly provided an economic boost to the region.
Immediate economic impact is felt as visitors come into Kane and surrounding areas and spend money on art, lodging, food, gas, and gifts. According to research undertaken by D. K. Shifflet for the PA Department of Tourism, the average length of stay for tourists in our area is 3.4 days. Linda Devlin, Executive Director of the Allegheny National Forest Vacation Bureau, says that average spending per person per day is $83.60. According to these numbers, if an estimated 3,500 artists and tourists came to Kane for just 2 days an extra $585,200 could be infused into the local economy. With a multiplier of 1.5 to 1.75 as estimated by economist Shailendra Gajanan of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, the total economic impact would be $877,800 to $1,024,100. This will indeed have a significant immediate and long term economic impact on the area.
The Art in the Wilds all volunteer committee worked in collaboration with the Allegheny National Forest Vacation Bureau (ANFVB), Pennsylvania Artisan Trails, the Do Route 6 campaign, the Lumber Heritage Region, the Kane Area Revitalization Enterprise (KARE), the Kane Chamber of Commerce and the Pennsylvania Wilds. The Art in the Wilds’ mission is to expand the role of the arts in our rural communities, encourage economic development through tourism and to provide a platform for artists to display and sell their works.
The project was supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency, through the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA), its regional arts funding partnership. State government funding for the arts depends upon an annual appropriation by the Pennsylvania General Assembly and from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. PPA is administered in this region by Elk County Council on the Arts.
Additional funding was also secured through grants from the Lumber Heritage Region through DCNR, the Kane Community Development Foundation, and sponsorship contributions from the Cleland Endowment and corporate and individual donations.
The Art in the Wilds’ mission is to expand the role of the arts in our rural communities, to promote economic development and to provide a platform for artists to display and sell their works. Art in the Wilds recently launched a new and updated website, and we will soon be posting photos from the 2008 show.
For more information on Art in the Wilds 2009, please visit www.artinthewilds.org. For sponsorship information or to obtain “purchase awards” or gift certificates for art, please contact mab@penn.com or call 814.837.7167, For tourism and travel information, please visit www.visitANF.com