Host an Artist Program Connects Locals with Visiting Artists

North Kingstown, RI – February 7, 2018 – We’re only halfway through the winter but the organizers of the Wickford Art Festival are busy planning the 56th annual event to be held on July 7th and 8th in Wickford Village. This year the festival organizers are reaching out to residents of South County to participate in the Host an Artist program, available for the third year.

Host an Artist is a matching program that offers local residents the chance to host a visiting artist for the weekend of the festival. Since the festival is long-running and juried, the artists are often well known in their field and some have shown their work at the festival for many years. To host an artist, locals complete an online questionnaire indicating their preferences for a guest—single or couple, man or woman, age, etc. Then the staff from the Host an Artist program will respond by email with profiles of two or three artists who have requested a host and who fit the criteria. The host can pick one of these artists or ask for other options.

For the local hosts, the program is an opportunity to participate in a long-standing Wickford tradition. The festival, held in Wickford since 1962, attracted over 200 artists and 60,000 visitors last year. Volunteering to host an artist is a way to support the art community in North Kingstown and to meet a talented visitor. The artists can offset some of their expenses and have a place to relax after the show that is more welcoming than a hotel room.

The visiting artists are a mix of men and women ranging in age from recent college graduates to 40 year Wickford Art Festival veterans. Many are from the surrounding New England states but they also travel from across the Northeast, including Canada. Some travel alone and others bring spouses and family members who help them at the show.

Kelsey Merkle attended her first festival last summer, traveling from Buffalo with her mother. She shared her thoughts about the program. "After I was accepted into the Wickford Art Festival, I wasn’t sure I could attend because I couldn’t afford to stay in the area, being a recent college grad who is just starting my art career. I applied to the Host an Artist program and soon a lovely woman named Kathleen McKenna contacted me with an invitation. We learned that Kathy had chosen us from a list of artists and I believe she was sensitive to my circumstances since she’s a former teacher. Kathy went out of her way to make us feel comfortable and we soon realized we were a great match. We had a few meals and a lot of laughs and she invited us to stay again this year. The trip to Wickford was our first time in Rhode Island and we came away loving it, in no small part due to Kathy’s hospitality.”

Francie Christophersen, the Festival Director, is pleased to offer the Host an Artist program, which gives the local community another way to participate in the festival. “Nothing says summer like the Wickford Art Festival and one of the ways we can help our visiting artists be successful is to connect them with a generous local host. Offering hospitality to our visitors is one of the truly special things about the Wickford Art Festival. I would encourage anyone who has a spare room available that weekend to consider the program. The hosts gain a greater appreciation of the festival and the hard work of the artists who travel here. Why not host an artist and make a new friend?”

For more information or to sign up as a host visit WickfordHostanArtist.org.

About the Wickford Art Festival: The Wickford Art Festival is one of New England's longest running, outdoor, fine art festivals. Produced by the Wickford Art Association since 1962, this juried festival features over 200 fine art artists from New England, the US and beyond. For more information: www.wickfordart.org.