Dear Mayor Becker,
My name is John Harris, I’m a local artist here in Salt Lake City and I just received a letter from Salt Lake City Corporation about the annual Downtown Alliance Artist & Farmers Market.
The new ordinance states that the Sidewalk Performer/Artists are no longer allowed in Pioneer park. (on any day) Why?
Many local artists planned to participate this year and took time, resources and money to get ready only to be denied 2 weeks prior to the market. It was heartbreaking for many other artists I spoke with and for myself.
I felt proud of our city for including the up and coming artists, especially with all the obstacles we face. Even a tiny amount of exposure is enough in itself to help a new artist become a professional.
I walked over to the opening day of the Farmers Market and was shocked to see the West side, the center and much of the outer rim of the park empty. As it stated in the letter, the fire marshal wanted a safer environment. The reality is, the Downtown Alliance chose to increase their booths up by 50, to ensure that the sidewalk artists would be remove for fire reasons. I was expecting the entire park to be filled, but I realized that they only added 50 more booths.
I am very concerned and somewhat saddened about this recent decision to disallow artists from participating in this cultural free expression as part of the Sidewalk and Street Artists at Pioneer Park.
To me the Sidewalk Artists/Performers are an integral part of becoming a true artist. There are many levels of artists, from the hobbyist child that creates hand made rock animals out of glue and stones, or the hand made flowers they make for their hair or even the Part time professional that only dabbles in Photography or Glass blowing Art.
They no longer have a decent venue to “show what they have” in hopes of becoming part of the professional league of the Artists in the Farmers Market. Thus removing their only “Real” exposure. The Downtown Alliance needs us as much as we need them, we are all Artists in a non-artist world.
The reality here is most of the “Free Artists” purchased the appropriate city license, followed the rules to the letter, and they also supported each other through purchasing food and crafts from the Farmers Market vendors. I believe that we need each other for entrepreneurship, inspiration, leadership, and support as a whole Artist community. To remove the Free Artist from our only relevant exposure, is to remove the new generation of artists from the community as a whole.
This is detrimental to Salt Lake City’s blossoming young and new artist community. The message is clear, the Downtown Alliance wants free art out and paid art in.
Unfortunately, this will remove the ability for many under the poverty level: “90%” of artists from the mix of our participation in community art. We want desperately to participate in this venue, we are not “freeloaders” as some have said, we are artists that need an outlet with a way to show our art to the community as a whole. Not on some side street away from the actual crowds that want to support local artisans.
There must be some way we can work out a compromise to incorporate all level of artists in the Artist/Farmers Market…perhaps a sliding scale that is equal for level of artists or businesses.
I was surprised that there was not even a community meeting about this new ordinance, we could have made this a great venue, instead it is now a corporate money venue not a free public park with all artists invited.
Sincerely,
J.Harris
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