VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Local art exhibit allows artists to grow, learn, and showcase work to customers
Louis Leibowitz: A staple in the art community, the Art Mart on Franklin Street, just opened for its 72nd season. The gallery gives local jewelers, ceramists and other artists a way to showcase their art and learn from other artists. President Judy Baron told me she hopes the exposure for artists allows them to become a go-to for customers.
Judy Baron: Ceramists for gifts. Jewelry for Christmas presents. “I want it to be a year-round thing where people know where they are and where they can get the stuff.
Leibowitz: Contributing artists, such as Kathy Czakowski, enjoy the opportunity to meet other artists and learn about different art techniques from them.
Kathy Czakowski: It’d may not be something I normally gravitate towards, but listening to them explain it, and you know what drives them, it’s just a lot of fun.
Leibowitz: From painters to jewelers to ceramists, there is a lot of art that you can see here right behind me. This also means that customers have a variety of options to choose from when they shop here every holiday season. The Art Mart tells me that the variety in art and artists that come through this building is very key for the possibilities of the near future.
Baron: I absolutely would like it expanding. Cause that means there’s more young artists, ok. Or more people, older, who’ve decided to show their things that they’ve been doing for so long.”
Leibowitz: The Art Mart is open from now until Christmas Eve. Artists are hopeful that the Art Mart will become a place for customers to take advantage of during holiday shopping.
Czakowski: When one of the guys was leaving he said, “if I need Christmas ornaments, I know exactly where I’m going to shop.” That’s all we can ask.”
Leibowitz: For NCC News, I’m Louis Leibowitz
Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News)–The Art Mart on Franklin Street is a staple in the local art community during the holiday season. It just started its 72nd season. The local gallery allows jewelers, ceramic artists and other artists to showcase their work to the community while also learning from one another. Art Mart President Judy Baron believes the exposure artists receive allows them to become a go-to resource for specific purposes in people’s lives.
“I want it to be a year-round thing where people know where they are and where they can get the stuff,” Baron said.
One of the other features of this annual exhibit is the mentorship local artists receive. The Art Mart brings in several young artists each year to showcase their work to customers and make a profit. This also allows veteran contributors to learn new skills each year. Jeweler Kathy Czakowski says she enjoys meeting and learning from new artists every year.
“It’d may not be something I normally gravitate towards, but listening to them explain it, it’s just a lot of fun,” Czakowski said.
Looking ahead, the Art Mart hopes to expand its roster of artists. The Mart can accommodate 20 to 30 artists but has hosted as many as 40 during a single season. Baron says offering a greater variety of artists could lead to bigger plans for the exhibit in future seasons.
“I absolutely would like it expanding,” Baron said. “That means there’s more young artists or people who’ve decided to show their things that they’ve been doing for so long.”
As the holiday season progresses, the Mart hopes customers who have already visited will return to purchase holiday gifts. Czakowski says these interactions with customers are a best-case scenario from a business standpoint.
“When one of the guys was leaving he said, ‘If I need Christmas ornaments, I know exactly where I’m going to shop,’” Czakowski said. “That’s all we can ask.”
The Art Mart is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday until Christmas Eve. It will be closed on Thanksgiving. Baron hopes customers will show off their purchases and keep coming back.
“Show it,” Baron said. “I want you to be able to say, ‘Yep, I saw this at Art Mart and I’m gonna be able to come back and get some more.’”