Tables of artwork, crafts, and clothes filled the lobby of the College Park WeWork on Tuesday, Nov. 19 and Thursday, Nov. 21 as Living Artists & Co. held their “Artist Marketplace.”
“I had a great time! There was way more art than I expected, and I thought it was cool that it was all local,” said Francesca Lapierre a senior English major.Â
The WeWork, located in the Discovery District of College Park housed around ten independent vendors both nights of the event. Guests were given the chance to shop, discover new artwork, and have one-on-one conversations with the artists who manned their tables themselves.
Photo by Eloise Ambursley on Unsplash
Boma Tende a senior art student at UMD was there to showcase her bright and colorful paintings, which emphasize the beauty in black women — a group that is underrepresented in the art world.Â
“I just want to put it out there that women are valuable, while still putting my own little twist on it,” said Tende.​
Photo by Jordan Swarm
Living Artists & Co. hosted the marketplace as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week at the University of Maryland. Living Artist’s mission is to help independent artists gain a solid footing in sustainable business, which they achieve through education and training of their artists as well as through specific opportunities such as the “Artist Marketplace.”
Art wasn’t the only thing being sold. There were two separate tables at the event selling second-hand clothes, one of them being Alternative Exchange. The worker-owned thrift store “pop-up” is run by former employees on the Maryland Food Co-op. Their booth was filled with pieces both vintage and modern, with extremely affordable price tags.
Photo by Hannah Morgan on Unsplash
“The fashion industry has a lot of human and environmental exploitation, so we’re kind of presenting an alternative to shopping,” said Aviah Krupnik a sophomore philosophy politics & economics major.
Shoppers at the marketplace were also given the chance to enter a raffle for $5 to win original pieces of artwork from multiple vendors. Living Artists & Co has many events like this, so check out their Facebook page to find out where and when the next one is taking place.