Thousands flock to downtown Bradenton. ArtSlam hits home run

Old Main Street was packed with young creators during Saturday’s ArtSlam.

The annual event returned for the ninth year with its biggest lineup ever. Organizers brought in 28 teams of artists, most of which were run by teachers and students from local schools.

ArtSlam brought in a record crowd this year, too, thanks to the massive list of participants. Johnette Isham, executive director of Realize Bradenton, estimated the crowd at about 13,000 over the course of the day.

“What’s wonderful about having an event in its ninth year is that you earn significant recognition,” she said. “It’s known from St. Pete to Sarasota.”

Each of the tents, which were mixed in with Bradenton’s Farmers’ Market vendors, featured interactive art. One of them was run by artist Mark Gagnon, who creates surrealist mazes.

Gagnon’s display featured a 101-inch maze that took him about eight hours to make. He welcomed anyone to try their hand at solving the maze. By about 11:30 a.m., only one person had done so, and it took him 12 minutes.

The detailed patterns actually began as an artistic pun, Gagnon said.

“I sent my dad a Christmas card that said ‘Have an amazing Christmas!’ and then I just sort of filled it in with one of these,” he explained. “It’s stuck ever since.”

Wakeland Elementary art teacher Brittany Braniger’s interactive demo was a unique take on equality and diversity. Her “Pieces of Me” project featured nine cubes covered in segments of her students’ faces.

She encouraged visitors to rearrange the three by three picture into different variations, each creating a unique look. Then she asked them to pose for a quick shot on her purple Polaroid camera.

“You should hear me in the classroom. I never stop talking about diversity and equality. It’s so important,” Braniger said.

The Origami Air Art Studio also had a booth, walking visitors through the steps required to make a crown or a bunny puppet for Easter. Owner Kuniko Yamamoto said this was her first year participating and she loved walking kids through the step to create their own Asian art.

“It’s beautiful. I’ve been doing this for almost 30 years, and kids always love origami,” said Yamamoto.

Recycling was the theme at the Manatee County Public Library tent, where kids could use ribbon, scraps of book pages and other re-used art crafts to contribute to two larger pieces. Both canvases will be on display at the library’s April 21 recycled art fashion show.

Isham said these sorts of interactive events are exactly what ArtSlam is all about: providing an outlet for young artists to introduce themselves to the community.

“It gives these kids the opportunity to work as a team and to interact with the public,” said Isham. “This is art for the public and with the public.”

It wasn’t all hands-on, though. Firkins Nissan, a sponsor of the event, provided a car to be wrapped in plastic and serve as a canvas for local aerosol artist Matt McAllister, who decked the vehicle with separate designs along its sides. One showed a bird in outer space and the other depicted a dragon breathing fire.

There were performances from local schools, as well. The popular Manatee High School drumline performed to a large crowd in the morning, followed later by dance performances from students of Haile Middle School and members of Bayshore High School’s Honeybears & Bruins dance team.

Performances ran throughout the day, with 13 scheduled in total. For more information, visit realizebradenton.com.

This story was originally published March 3, 2018 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Thousands flock to downtown Bradenton. ArtSlam hits home run."