Due to the uncertainty of rules on outdoor gatherings, the Ann Arbor Art Fair has cancelled the event for the summer of 2021.
The fair consists of three fairs at once. The Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original; The Guild’s Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair, South University Art Fair, and State Street Art Fair are combined into one large, art extravaganza for the community to enjoy. The Ann Arbor Art Fair is a Midwest tradition that brings close to half a million people to Ann Arbor for four days in July. IT’s the largest juried art fair in the nation and features more than 1,000 artists and a footprint spanning 30 city blocks in downtown Ann Arbor.
“We can truthfully say that we tried everything we could to make it work with COVID protocols, but the bottom line is that outdoor gathering restrictions would need to be totally lifted before we could proceed,” says Mo Riley, director of the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, the Original, on the website. “We hung on to hope that restrictions might change, but we have now run out of time. We all think it is likely that capacity limits will be lifted by July, but there are no guarantees. It would be unfair to ask artists to take that risk.”
Although there was plenty of talks early on about resuming the art fair, it seems that this year’s COVID restrictions will keep us from gathering for the event for another year. The decision was difficult to make, but it is in the interest of our community’s safety.
The hope is that the event will return on July 21-24 of 2022.
