MANSFIELD, Ohio –Chuck Hahn wanted art on the downtown streets, so he asked Diana Hostetler if she could do it. She called in a few acquaintances and ‘boom:’ ArtisStreet, an outdoor music and arts festival, came to the downtown streets on Saturday.
“His passion is bringing people downtown to make them understand that this is a fun place to be and it’s safe,” said Hostetler. She said she went straight to Kathy Goodwin, art coordinator at Element of Art. “She’s an artist; she knows all of the artists and this is her thing,” she added.
They were joined by others, like Mark Jordan and Bryan Gladden of Downtown Mansfield, and color spread on the canvas. An opening event was held Friday at Element of Art. (See gallery at right)
“We wanted people who could do their art, set out here and do their art, and let people enjoy it,” Hostetler added. “For people who say there’s nothing to do in downtown, ‘Hello.”
“When she asked about have an art show in downtown, I feel like art shows are so very typical,” Goodwin said. “There’s a lot of rules, a lot of regulations to them; and I wanted to create something that was more of a carnival atmosphere for art. So that’s why we were able to get Neos [Dance Theatre]. There’s a lot of poets down here and there’s going to be people walking around playing music as well as the kids from the Renaissance youth theater, the Youth Arts Council is here, and we just had a few guys from the Mansfield Symphony.
There were also poetry broadsides, poems printed on handbills, many with art, affixed to walls, poles and fences. “It’s a fun way to put poetry in people’s faces,” Jordan said.
“We got poets from all over the USA, Spain, Sweden, and India,” said Jordan, explaining that an appeal for poetry submissions was made on a poetry Facebook page.
Artists lined the street around Fourth Street and Temple Court, there were periodic live performances, and stores busy. This first ArtiStreet was well-received and there are plans to hold another one next June. “This was the first year,” said Goodwin, “and look at how many people are here.”
