Art Activities, Music, and more!
Interested in performing for our 2023 fairgoers? Email Elizabeth with a description of your music/act and a video/demo to elizabeth@theguild.org.
Summer Sounds – Stage on Main
The Stage on Main is presented by DTE, featuring one of the top music clubs in the world, The Ark, a non-profit organization presenting the best of traditional and contemporary live music in downtown Ann Arbor over 300 nights each year. At The Ark, performers and audiences connect in a state-of-the-art listening room for an intimate music experience. We’re excited to bring live music each evening of the fair to the Stage on Main at the corner of Main and William in the Palio lot. Stop by and join one of the best street parties of the year!
2022 Performance Schedule:
Thursday, July 21
11am-1pm: Pioneer High School Orchestra Ensembles
2-4pm: The Prison Creative Arts Project presents a Storytelling Event with Live Music from Brandon McCoy
5-6pm – Dani Darling 
6:30-7:30pm – The Quebe Sisters
8-9pm – Kyshona
Friday, July 22
11am-1pm: Pioneer High School Orchestra Ensembles
2:30-4:30pm – The Prison Creative Arts Project presents Spoken Word with Live Music
5:30-7pm – Brooke Annibale
7:30-9pm – Joe Reilly & the Community Gardeners
Saturday, July 23
11am-1pm: Pioneer High School Orchestra Ensembles
3-4pm – Out Loud Chorus
5-6pm – The Whiskey Charmers
6:30-8pm – Jared Deck
Located at the corner of Main & William in the parking lot next to Palio Restaurant.
Chalk the Walk with David Zinn
Chalk the Walk is presented by Lake Michigan Credit Union, featuring Ann Arbor’s own world-renown Artist David Zinn. Recognized globally for his clever and improvised chalk street art, Zinn will be creating his original temporary chalk work live during the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair event. Sidewalk chalk will be available during all fair hours so that fairgoers can join in on the creativity and add their own mark on this year’s Ann Arbor Art Fair.
HOURS: 1-3PM Thursday, July 21 & Saturday, July 23 [in case of rain these may be rescheduled to Friday, July 22]
We Bear [US]: International debut at Ann Arbor Art Fair of unique UK and US prison art exhibit.
Location at Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair: Liberty & Main
In the depths of the covid pandemic lockdown, 31 people isolated in prisons in the UK and US produced extraordinary artworks exploring personal experiences of incarceration. Artist Faye Claridge sent each participant a letter inviting creative responses to the Warwickshire symbol of the chained bear. She paired two folk art paintings from the two countries*, showing different treatment of captive bears. These, as metaphors, provided inspiration for the remarkable artworks presented in We Bear.
The We Bear artworks were made in the most difficult of circumstances, in the middle of a global pandemic, and communicate sincerely a range of experiences of being incarcerated.
They were created for a one-off exhibition in the UK, with Coventry Biennial, and attracted a staggering 52,068 visitors. Engagement from audiences and everyone involved has been astonishing, participants said they grew from the professional feedback and personal development in the opportunity and the results they produced are breath-taking.
In response, Arts Council England has extended project support, allowing We Bear to travel to the US and be showcased at the hugely popular Ann Arbor Art Fair.
The Prison Creative Arts Project, based at Michigan University, has been a partner in the project from the start and is now collaborating as co-curator for the Art Fair exhibit. Its team will also be running workshops and events within the fair program, for visitors to find inspiration and take part, thanks to support from The Guild of Artists and Artisans.
*The two folk art paintings inspiring participants’ responses are Man Feeding A Bear An Ear of Corn (1840, American Folk Art Museum, New York) and Bear Baiting (1830s, Compton Verney Art gallery & Park, Warwickshire).
Live Painting with Gary Horton | Presented by 
Photograph by Doug Coombe | secondwavemedia
Watch local artist Gary Horton transform a storage container, presented by ModuGo, into a work of art as he paints a mural live during this year’s Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair!
Gary Horton is an artist and designer from Ann Arbor, Michigan. He studied Fine Art and Design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. While being classically trained in oil panting, Gary would spend late nights in train yards and rooftops learning the forbidden art of graffiti. His murals and oversized paintings can be viewed all over Michigan and beyond. He specializes in bright, colorful, and imaginative designs that help bring joy and wonder to an area that may otherwise be seen as ordinary.
HORTON HOURS: Thursday – Saturday 10AM – 5PM (weather permitting)
LOCATION: On Liberty near Main between Main and Ashley (outside of Pretzel Bell).