Festival Activities > Booth Artisans – Arts at the Port – Entertainment – Food & Beverage – Spring Fest
Arts at the Port is the crown jewel of the Festival, showcasing regional contemporary fine art exhibitions. It is located at the far north end of the Festival, in the historic waterfront Port Transit Shed Event Center.
Arts at the Port kicks-off at the free Opening Event on Saturday, July 27 at 6:00 pm. Come be among the first to view this year’s exhibition and enjoy wine, music and nibbles. The exhibition will also be open July 29 – August 1 from 9-5 and during Festival hours August 2-4.
Art Awards
Arts at the Port presents up to $11,000 in awards. See the 2018 Award winners.
Four Exhibitions
Juried Art
Our annual Juried Exhibition is selected by a prominent arts professional and includes bodies of work from regional artists working in all mediums.
This years juror Joanna Sikes recently took over as Executive Director of the Museum of Northwest Art in LaConner. Sikes comes with a strong vested interest in the Pacific Northwest arts community. She worked closely with Dale Chihuly as Studio Manager, marketing/client relations and Director of Special Projects. In 2012 the Museum of Glass in Tacoma named her the Director of External Affairs.
The Allen Family Focus Gallery
The Allen Family Focus Gallery showcases the work of Northwest artists, invited by the Festival Curatorial Team. This years theme “Pattern & Structure”, will include the work of three diverse artists – Cathy Shoenberg (Anacortes), Jill Nordfors Clark (Seattle) and Charissa Brock (Portland).
Youth Art Installation
This year’s Youth Artist exhibition is an exciting new collaboration with Voices of the Children. It will feature an installation with artwork from students in Skagit County and young Syrian refugees. The installation focus around writing and visual art that explores issues facing young women between the ages of 12 – 18.
Regeneration Guns to Art Project
Say Their Names…the Anacortes Regeneration Project is an artist driven response to the phenomenon of mass shootings in America. Thirty Skagit Valley artists have created over 800 individual ceramic rocks, each displaying the name, event, date and age of an individual killed in 84 mass shootings in America. Included in those names are 37 children under the age of 11, and 40 Washington State first responders.
The rocks are being assembled into a Cairn measuring approximately 9’ tall by 7’ wide. It will be first exhibited as part of Arts at the Port. Also included in the installation are castings of guns that were collected and destroyed as part of the project, a separate piece that incorporates actual gun pieces, and a video that includes writing from students and adults who have been affected by gun violence as audio and visual clips.