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thePeorian.com
T
he Peoria Art Guild, one of
the oldest art organizations
in the country, will again
host one of the longest-running
fine art fairs in the country when
the 50th Annual Fine Art Fair is
held the last weekend in Septem-
ber.
Not many art institutions can
boast that they have existed for
134 years, but the Peoria Art
Guild can. Even Rocco Landes-
man, chairman of the National
Endowment for the Arts, said it is
amazing that an arts organization
located in the heart of the Mid-
west, in the middle of Illinois and
150 miles from a large metropoli-
tan city can survive 134 years.
Simply stated, art is alive and
well in our fair city.
The mission of the Peoria Art
Guild has been to present to the
public an array of contemporary
art through exhibitions, outreach
programs in area schools and ini-
tiatives like the Fine Art Fair. The
Guild, like many other art organi-
zations, has survived on revenue
generated by fundraisers, small
grants and membership sup-
port. There are no government
handouts. Without the Fine Art
Fair, the Guild and its programs
would be on life-support and the
community would most likely be
void of the largest annual cultural
event.
A bit of history
Let’s take a step back and
examine what the art fair was like
50 years ago.
A local art fair was first envi-
sioned by well-known Peorian
Adelaide Cooley, who attended
the Chicago’s Gold Coast Fair in
the early 1960s and felt Peoria
could benefit from something
similar. Reportedly, however, the
idea did not meet with over-
whelming approval. Peoria ques-
tioned whether Peoria was ready
for such an innovative approach
to the fine arts. Would Peorians
support it? And who would take
on the monumental task of orga-
nizing it?
That’s when Marianne Bibo-
Russell of Bibo Gallery stepped
in. She had been an active
member of the Peoria Art Guild
and was the perfect person to
champion the outdoor art event
in 1962. Her first effort show-
cased 27 artists along the Junction
City boardwalk and was so well
received that 54 artists were
Peoria’s Fine Art Fair
is Golden
What’s so special about the Fine Art Fair?
The answer might surprise you
By Cathi Hawkinson
The Present