On Sunday, OFFcenter Community Arts Project opened the doors to their gallery and studio Downtown, spilling out into a colorful arts and crafts frenzy in the park across the street.
Over 75 artists and vendors, many of whom collaborate with OFFcenter, filled the park for their 15th Annual Folk Art Festival. Truly, that is what it was — an art festival put on by, and for, all of us everyday “folks.”
A puppet parade made its way through the center of Robinson Park, while people of all ages made crafts together in the workshop tent. Others strolled through the local artist booths, and snacked on baked goods or ate from one of the many food trucks parked nearby.
“OFFcenter was founded by artists and art therapists 20 years ago,” Executive Director Bob Allen said.
Their idea — that art is a means of connection, healing and joy — has been carried on for two decades since.
Allen has been working with OFFcenter for four years, spending the last year as the executive director.
“There’s a certain amount of joy and magic that happens when you make art with other people,” Allen said.
He described the Folk Art Festival as “people from all backgrounds coming together and making art, expressing their varied experiences of life through art.”
OFFcenter offers free or low-cost workshops in many mediums, like knitting, card-making and writing.
Through donations they are able to offer the community various supplies and tools, like fabric, paint or wood, that might not otherwise be accessible to some.
And through the gallery that takes up one of their large front windows, they also offer a place where emerging artists can sell their art at little cost to them.
It’s these resources — and how accessible they are to the general public — that make OFFcenter a place of immense value to the Albuquerque community.
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“From walking into the door, to making art, to showing in our gallery and then selling their art at the festival, we give artists the opportunity to make some supplemental income,” Allen said.
One such artist is Christie Vessells, who uses old clothing and some of the fabric donated to OFFcenter to craft interesting creatures, covered in funky patterns and textures, complete with hidden pockets and imaginative faces.
Like some of the emerging artists present at the Folk Art Festival, Vessells didn’t start creating her art until just last year.
“I started doing it just for me and my brain, and people loved it,” she said.
In collaboration with her mother, who also makes fabric goods, Vessells began selling her “monsters” creations at a few local events.
It was at one of these events that she was introduced to OFFcenter Arts and was invited to the studio.
For the past year, she has been visiting OFFcenter regularly and began selling her art in their gallery space.
“They changed my life,” Vessells said. “That idea that someone can just walk in off the street and make art is awesome.”
Hannah Eisenberg is a culture reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
