50 years ago, the St. James Court Art Show was little more than a few pieces of art hung on a clothesline between two trees in St. James Court. The $150 in sales for the day was divided among the 15 participating artists.
A lot can change in 50 years. Scheduled to run October 6, 7, and 8th this year’s show, will spill out into six Old Louisville neighborhoods, attract 275,000 shoppers, display 700 artists and top $3 million in sales.
“It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come,” said Rollia Knight, a St. James resident and a volunteer for the show. “In the beginning, we were just trying to earn some money to help the neighborhood. Now artist and tourism publications are saying we’re the top art show of our kind in the country,” she said. In fact, The St. James Court Art Show has been named the top fine art and craft show in the country for two consecutive years by Sunshine Artist, and is always named to the top 20 event listings by organizations such as Art Fair Sourcebook and the Southeast Tourism Society.
In addition to merchandise from the country’s best artisans, this year’s show will feature many of the traditions shoppers have come to love, such as food vendor booths, and a wide variety of commemorative items for sale—all designed to help fund historic preservation of Old Louisville.
For more information visit: ://www.stjamescourtartshow.com/
