Some of Okotoks’ budding artists will be putting their wares out for the world to see – and buy.
The Inspiration Studio Academy of Fine Art is hosting the 11th annual Youth Art Market for its students on June 25 from 12:30-3:30 p.m. at the Okotoks Elks Hall.
“This is a chance for students to showcase their work,” said Robin Thibodeau, art teacher and studio founder.
“Young visual artists don’t often get a chance to showcase their work like performing artists do. I just find that a lot of the time, visual artists don’t really get that opportunity as often, unless you are part of a school event.”
This gives the young artists a taste of the soft skills they’ll use later in life.
"What it does is it builds some confidence early on, so that when they get into art school or really anything in life,” Thibodeau said. “And as they get older, they’re going to want to find some form of confidence.”
The market is also an exercise in learning the important-yet-often-neglected commercial aspect of being an artist, the art teacher explained. Sometimes the students may even be too attached to their work to want to sell it.
“A lot of the times it can feel like they’re losing a piece of themselves,” she said. “There has to be a way to learn to distance yourself from it.
“Sometimes I’ll have kids that don’t want to sell anything, they just want to display it, and they can do that: display, sale or both.”
As the students have grown their skills, with 22 artists ranging in ages from seven to 17, the works will range widely in medium.
“There will be paintings, drawings, printmaking, cardboard, sculpture, paper mache, jewellery, quite a lot of stuff,” Thibodeau said.
“Once they learn one particular skill or medium, then they learn to mash it up with other ones.”
There will be 22 artists showcasing and selling their work.
“They’ll come, they’ll show their work, and there will be some games people can play,” Thibodeau said.
“We’re raising funds for Heaven Can Wait and Okotoks Pound Rescue through the Selfie Station. People can pose and do funny antics and whatnot and make donations to the rescue sites.”
For more information visit the Inspiration Studio Academy of Fine Art on Facebook.
