The Fine Arts for Ocala (FAFO) Arts Festival is back Downtown this coming weekend, where thousands flock from all over the region to enjoy a solid two days of music, great food, live entertainment, demonstrations – and art. Lots of art from 155 people from around the country.
The event started in 1966 and has burgeoned into a major Autumn tradition that draws over 40,000 people to Ocala each year. Artists from around the entire country submit applications to exhibit in the art show, and only about 145-150 are selected by an independent panel of judges. It’s competitive, and there’s a reason for that – it’s a unique and powerful opportunity for artists to see and be seen, sell their work and generate new business, and boost their profile so that they can become more self-sustaining as craftspeople and creators. That’s important, and especially for the ones who are just starting out.
“The Arts Festival is one of maybe the only opportunities for county-wide student art exhibits and live student performances,” Emily Andrews, Vice President of FAFO told us in our podcast last year. “The more people who come, I would love them to keep buying art so that the artists keep coming back.”
Creatives and artists, musicians, writers, and craftspeople are important, because they’re chroniclers of our society’s humanism. They maintain things like traditional craft and tradeswork, capture moments in time and history, and through their work show us how the past informs the future. Without artists, there’s no touchstone or context to history, nobody preserving those moments and those traditions, and we lose them. When we lose that, we not only lose connection, but context and the ability to understand things with depth or clarity. In the ongoing and increasingly relevant debate about AI, art and humanities are more vital than ever.
Making a living as an artist isn’t easy; making it your sole source of income is even harder. There’s not a lot of security, because the ability to pay the bills rests solely on sales, commissions and contract work – and none of that comes through an assembly line in a factory, or from an office cubicle between 9am and 5pm. Most artisans and craftspeople are freelancers and gig workers, and each of their projects is different and unique – different materials with different time constraints. They rely almost completely on their own imaginations, self-motivation, and dedication to their work, and aren’t very often subsidized by patrons the way it was done in the Medici days.
In other words, it’s a profession as well as a passion, and the challenge of making art a living isn’t an easy one. Through organizations like Fine Arts For Ocala and others, they have opportunities opened to them that are invaluable– collaboration, networking, education, and community building, all of which are vital to their successes.
Primarily volunteer-run, FAFO is an enormous support and resource for creative people. In addition to its events like the Festival and the grant incentives that offer financial relief, it’s a hub and organizational force that offers real, tangible ways for artists to get a leg up in the playing field, so to speak, and find more opportunities to get a foothold.
The Emerging Artists program was created to encourage new, developing talent who are invited to show and sell their work alongside established artists, work with mentors, and participate in competition. These artists are given waivers for booth fees, money for travel fees, art supplies, materials, and food – and on top of that, volunteer support and media promotion during the Arts Festival.
“They’re featured on the map in a special section; they’re new to the show scene, and it’s just a great way to highlight upcoming artists,” Andrews said. “We have painting, jewelry, textiles – our artists are the highlight of the show, and we love our student art as well as the live performances.”
The FAFO Arts Festival is October 25-26, is free and open to the public and pet friendly. There’s plenty for locals and visitors alike to see and explore, plus food, drink, live music, and a vibrant celebration of the thriving Ocala Arts community. It’s a great weekend out in the community where you can support local artists and find something unique that no one else has, specially created by someone who worked hard to make it.
For more information about the festival and FAFO’s members, grant programs, and other events, visit FAFO.org.