Brookhaven Arts Festival

BROOKHAVEN ARTS FESTIVAL RETURNS OCT. 19-20, 2019

Regional Favorite for Art Lovers Celebrates 15^th Year with Over 140 Talented Artists,

Free Admission, Free Parking, MARTA Access, Classic Car Show, Music, and Kids Interactive Art

ATLANTA (June 11, 2019) - The 15th annual Brookhaven Arts Festival (BAF) will be held on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 19-20, 2019 behind the Brookhaven MARTA station.  Over 140 participating artists feature works of fiber, glass, jewelry, mixed media, painting, photography, sculpture and more in a wide variety of styles and price ranges. A juried art show, the BAF attracts artists of the highest quality who travel from all over the country for the opportunity to share their creativity at this event. Art collectors and enthusiasts will also enjoy musical performances over the two days, with a classic car show on Sunday from 1-4pm.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free and includes access to terrific local food and beverage vendors, plus kids’ activities; so the whole family can participate in a fun-filled fall day. The festival is located at 1245 Apple Valley Road, Brookhaven, Ga 30319, behind the Brookhaven MARTA station.  There is plenty of free parking in the MARTA lot, or ride MARTA right to the event. For more information, visit brookhavenartsfestival.com.

A few of the featured artists at the 2019 BAF include:

• Polly Sherrill, Polly the Potter, lives and works at Polly on the Avenue, her bright purple studio/showroom/home in Atlanta’s Inman Park neighborhood.  Polly has taught over five thousand kids to throw pots. She calls children “her true inspiration”. Her secret?  “I treat the kids like they’re forty, and I act like I’m six.” 

• Obayana Ajanaku from Decatur, Ga is a self-taught metalsmith who makes wearable sculpture.  He uses Sculptural Mixed gold, silver, and found object jewelry fabricated by hand using old world metalsmithing techniques. Obayana was the Brookhaven Art Festivals’ First place winner in 2018.

• Araik Minasyan a painter who works with oil on canvas, is known for his impressionistic flair. A current resident of Charlotte N. C., Araik creates abstract paintings laced with passion and emotion that is expressed using a palette knife technique.

• Andy Bungo merged his woodworking skills with years of interior design experience to create The Prodigal Carpenter. The result was a collaboration producing unique handcrafted wood items and select home décor. Andy is from Cartersville, Ga.

• Don Meinders became a wildlife painter while spending over 12 years working on sustainable agricultural projects with subsistence farmers in the mountains of Central America. He lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina, and his work has vibrant and energetic colors.

• William Gillard has been making natural Jewelry using Orange peel, Coconut shell, Acai seeds, Wood, and Tagua; which is Known as “the Vegetable Ivory”.  He is from Ft Myers FL and also incorporates Leather, Cotton cord, and Wire into his unique work.

Festival director Kelly Marsh has lived and worked in Brookhaven for over 20 years and sees being director of the BAF as her way of giving back to the community that has supported her real estate business, the Kelly Did it Again Team - Keller Williams Peachtree Rd.  She says, “My mother was an artist and taught me how to appreciate art, and I love collecting art. This festival draws crowds of thousands each year from all over the region and is an opportunity for Brookhaven to shine right alongside our many talented artists.” 

Fast facts about the Brookhaven Arts Festival:

• The festival has been in the same location since its inception, on 1245 Apple Valley Road behind the Brookhaven MARTA station.

• There was no Brookhaven Arts Festival in 2014 after the longtime director moved away. Kelly Marsh, who had been a volunteer since it started in 2004 brought it back in 2015 and financed it from her own pocket that year.

• Marsh operates the festival as a nonprofit, with the primary purpose being to showcase high-quality artists with a wide array of price options and different art mediums. The focus is on uniting art lovers for a fun-filled weekend that promotes the spirit of the Brookhaven community.

• Expanded in 2019, interactive activities for budding artists abound. The section for children is expanding to include sand art, birdhouse painting, bubble art, stamp art, and pumpkin painting, among other hands-on projects. 

For more information, visit brookhavenartsfestival.com or the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BrookhavenArtFestival

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