MANSFIELD — A week-long celebration of the arts in Richland County will commence Friday, June 3 with the return of The ART of It All.
Richland Community Development Group’s Arts and Culture Sector created this event two years ago to help draw attention to the different artistic events that take place in the area, said Kathy Goodwin, co-director of the arts and culture sector and art coordinator at Element of Art.
The schedule is filled with a variety of events that feature different art forms — from visual arts to performing arts and literary arts.
“There’s something for everyone,” Goodwin said.
Venues include the Mansfield Playhouse, Tog Loft, Main Street Books, Artspace, Richland Academy of the Arts, Relax It’s Just Coffee, the Renaissance Theatre, Element of Art, The Ohio State University at Mansfield and Little Buckeye Children’s Museum.
The ART of It All begins with an art opening at Element of Art at 5 p.m., which also marks the opening night of ArtiStreet.
ArtiStreet continues on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with an outdoor music and arts festival in downtown. During this event, artists are encouraged to not only display their artwork, but create it, too.
“We’ll have everything from woodworkers to a quilt maker, culinary arts, visual arts, jewelry makers, painters, and more,” Goodwin said.
The entire festival will be underscored by live entertainment.
“There will be music or spoken word happening every minute of the day,” Goodwin said.
This free event will take place in the Carrousel District of downtown Mansfield.
“It is a rain-or-shine event, because if it rains, we’ll move the artists into the nearest business, and that’ll bring people who are looking at the artwork into these businesses, so it’ll help the downtown businesses as well,” Goodwin said.
The ART of It All, which ends June 11, is great for families, date night or a night out with friends, Goodwin said. Moreover, it helps support the local arts.
“The art scene in Mansfield continues to grow and it’s becoming more widely known, but there’s still that section of our population that has no idea what’s going on with the cultural element of Mansfield,” Goodwin said. “So we want to bring more attention to it.”
To find out more about the local art scene, visit artsrich.com.
