Greenwich Village Art Fair
SAT + SUN, SEP 16 + 17, 2023
10 AM to 6 PM SAT + 10 AM to 5 PM SUN
$5 (cash) admission at the gates (enter through the parking lot near Rockford Art Museum)
The 75th Greenwich Village Art Fair is an outdoor event held at Rockford Art Museum featuring juried artists, live music by regional musicians, children’s art activities, a local vendor marketplace, food trucks, cocktails, and more.
Established in 1948, GVAF is the longest-running art fair of its kind in the Midwest. All artwork on display at Greenwich Village Art Fair is original and produced entirely by the hands of the exhibiting artist.
Admission proceeds support Rockford Art Museum, located at 711 North Main Street in downtown Rockford, Illinois.
75th Greenwich Village Art Fair
Sept. 16 + 17 at Rockford Art Museum in downtown Rockford
The 75th Greenwich Village Art Fair (GVAF) takes place Saturday, September 16 and Sunday, September 17—rain or shine—on the grounds of Rockford Art Museum (RAM) at Riverfront Museum Park, 711 N. Main St., in downtown Rockford, Illinois. The annual outdoor event features over 75 juried artists, live music by local musicians, an artisan marketplace, children’s art activities, food trucks, cocktails and more. Established in 1948, Greenwich is the longest running art fair of its kind in the Midwest. Premier sponsors are: Joan Stonecipher, Lon + Dick Behr, Bergstrom Inc, Dean Alan Olson Foundation, Cathy + Rob Funderburg, Anne + David Boccignone, and MPEC NAPA.
Admission gates are located at the Rockford Art Museum parking lot. Gates are open 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Saturday (after-hours event until 7:30 p.m.) and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults, free for children 12 and younger. Tickets are available at the gate (cash only). Ticket proceeds help support RAM programs throughout the year.
Exhibiting at this year’s fair are 75 artists and 4 artisan marketplace vendors from across the nation. Types of artwork represented include paintings, jewelry, sculpture, glass, ceramics, textiles, photography, wood, mixed media, and more. Artists compete for awards on the first day of the fair, where their work will be viewed by 2023 Judge Jason Peot. Awards, including Best of Show, Nancy Sauer award, Judge’s Choice awards, and honorable mentions will be presented Sat, Sept. 16. List of exhibiting artists at end of article.
Special events at the fair include live music by regional bands, Art Raffle (announced Sunday, with raffle prizes of original artwork donated by up to 5 exhibiting artists), cocktails and champagne at Point Lounge and Spark Champagne Bar both days, Greenwich t-shirt designed by artist Jenny Mathews, kid’s art activities, and after-hours music event Saturday night from 6-7:30 p.m. featuring Swingbilly RFD.
Greenwich Main Stage, features LIVE MUSIC all day by local musicians including Emily Hurd, Boom Boom Room, Micky Torpedo, WIMP, Swingbilly RFD, Yesterday’s Gone, Tentacles Everywhere, Geo-N-Mik, Mana Kintorso, and Prairie Smoke. All sets included with fair admission.
Local food trucks will be on-site serving everything from bao sandwiches to woodfire pizza and homemade ice cream. Village Pub will serve sodas, and LaMonica brands of beer, wine and hard seltzers. Craft beer will be served by local brewery, Pig Minds Brewing. Local and regional vendors at the Greenwich Artisan Marketplace this year include Craft + Foster Candles, Dip N Good Dips, Dreamflow Works, Elgin Community College, EARTH Zero Waste, and Handicraft Soul. Food and drink vendors include Bad Humor, Citrus Squeezers, Disco Chicken, Ka Bao, Rustic Oven Wood Fired Pizza, Thai Jasmine Rice + Noodles.
Kortman Gallery Point Lounge features signature cocktails, mixed drinks and fine wines and, returning this year, J.R. Kortman Center for Design also presents Spark Champagne Bar featuring champagne cocktails. The RAM Membership Booth is also located near the entrance, where visitors can easily join the art museum or renew their membership for the upcoming year.
2023 Art Raffle tickets, $5 each or 3 for $10, are available at the GVAF Info Booth. Drawing will be held Sunday, Sept. 17, at 5 p.m.; ticketholders need not be present to win.
Sponsored by ArtZone/Kortman Gallery and Brian Fischer + Todd Fischer-Free, the Emerging Artist Booth features local emerging artists selected by Kortman Gallery.
Kids can make their own take-home art at the popular Creations by Kids tent sponsored by Illinois State Credit Union. Hands-on art activities are $1 each. The Creations tent opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. on Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sunday (one hour before the fair closes).
While visiting the fair be sure to stop by Rockford Art Museum; where the feature exhibition Constant Pressure is on view through Nov. 12. This exhibition is an assembly of artist whose work has impacted Fatherless Print Posse along their print making journey. Admission is free thanks to a generous sponsorship from the Kjellstrom Family Foundation, Dean Alan Olson Foundation, Lisa + Mark Lindman, Rockford University, and Wells Fargo Advisors.
Premier Sponsors: Joan Stonecipher, Bergstrom Inc, Lon + Dick Behr, Anne + David Boccignone, Dean Alan Olson Foundation, Cathy + Rob Funderburg, MPEC NAPA. Supporting Sponsors: Anderson Toyota Scion Lexus of Rockford, Associated Bank Private Wealth, City of Rockford, GreenState Credit Union, Steve + Vicki Johnson, J.R. Kortman Center for Design, Rockford Mutual Insurance Agency, Wells Fargo Advisors. Contributing Sponsors: Aqua-Aerobic Systems, Inc, Members Alliance Corporate Giving Fund of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, Patty + Bob Rhea, Rockford Area Arts Council, Rockford Association for Minority Management, Saavedra Group Architects, Sjostrom & Sons. Award Sponsors Lon + Dick Behr, Dean Alan Olson Foundation, Lynn Fischer-Carlson, John Deill, Gerrie Gustafson, Sapori Stationery, Steve + Vicki Johnson, Women’s Art Board. Music Sponsors: ABG Bag, Inc., Mary’s Place. Emerging Artists Sponsor: ArtZone/Kortman Gallery and Brian Fischer + Todd Fischer-Free. In-Kind Sponsors: Associated Bank Corp., Awards by Jody, Castronovo’s Bridal Shop, Easterseals, Holmstrom and Kennedy, KNIB, Lino’s, Metro Enforcement, Mrs. Fischer’s Potato Chips, Player’s Golf Cars, Rock River Service Co., Rockford Mass Transit District, St Angel Realtors and Insurance, Stepping Stones.
The 75th Greenwich Village Art Fair is co-chaired by Keri and Doug Benhoff and supported by a Steering Committee. GVAF is also staffed by community volunteers throughout the event. Ticket proceeds help support Rockford Art Museum.
Learn more at greenwichvillageartfair.com or facebook.com/greenwichvillageartfair, and follow GVAF during the event at instagram.com/greenwichvillageartfair.
FULL LIST OF 2023 EXHIBITING ARTISTS
Exhibiting artists include: Gerri Ager (Madison, WI), Audra Baade (Milwaukee, WI), Shawn Barbagallo, (Rockford, IL), Salem Barker (South Beloit, IL), Bill Bergeson (St. Charles, IL), Barbara Bettag (Wheaton, IL), Alex Bolton (Bolingbrook, IL), Pat + Gary Braker (McHenry, IL), Sally Brandl (Evanston, IL), Dan Brinkmeier (Mount Carroll, IL), Daniel Burks (Cherry Valley, IL), Brad Cahill (Freeport, IL), Tonya Cameron (Whitewater, WI), Molly Carter (Rockford, IL), Sharon Cherney (Clayton, WI), Melinda Cook (Freeport, IL), Claudia Darak (Schererville, IN), Dennis Dargel (Winnebago, IL), Barry Dock (Rockford, IL), Rebecca Dodson (Sun Prairie, WI), Christine Duckmann (Chicago, IL), Nyx Eckmayer (Lockport, IL), Teresa Ellis (Lockport, IL), Drew Eurek (Rockford, IL), Roberto Ferrer (Mundelein, IL), Kate Fitch (Belvedere, IL), Aaron Furuseth + Anh Gnuyen (Minneapolis, MN), Jay Gilmore (Rockton, IL), Kelly Griffin (Rockford, IL), Christina Holm (Rockford, IL), Ingrid Hyde (Rockford, IL), Lisa Jimenez (Rockford, IL), Nancy Kingsland (Chicago, IL), Elizabeth Kline (Chicago, IL), Norm Knott (Rockford, IL), Pablo Korona (Rockford, IL), Edward Krystosek (Homewood, IL), Kyle Kufrin (Rockford, IL), Angela Kullmann + Russell Grace (Harvard, IL), John Lamar (Rockford, IL), Tab Link (Fitchburg, WI), Julaine Lofquist-Burch (Rockford, IL), Jennifer Lynde (Rockford, IL), Dori Marsh (Rochelle, IL), Brenda Mattis + Jeff Hobbs (South Beloit, IL), Cynthia Maynard + Collene Chalka (Harvard, IL), Eileen McDaniel (Wautoma, WI), Taylor McDarison (Waukesha, WI), Kari McDonald (Rockford, IL), Kristan McNames (Loves Park, IL), Josh Merrill (Downers Grove, IL), Jeff Metheny (Rockford, IL), David Nugent (Hinsdale, NH), Susan Otterson (Madison, WI), Josh Richardson (Rockton, IL), Kate + Chris Robleski (Milwaukee, WI), Nick Scheuer (Rockford, IL), David Schubert (Downers Grove, IL), Charles Senties (Rockford, IL), Diane Shaffer (Waterman, IL), Derek Squires (Pecatonica, IL), Gretchen Stark (Rockford, IL), Stephanie Tantillo (Marengo, IL), Thomas Trausch (Woodstock, IL), Lana Vosk (Mequon, WI), William Waite (Waterloo, WI), Lynda Wallis (Beloit, WI), Jon Walton (Middleton, WI), Joshua Weedman (Freeport, IL), Adam Weiss (Fort Calhoun, NE. Also featured this year are three Emerging Artists: Daniel Bovell, Richard Hart, and Dysen White.
