The first art fair, in 1959, was a Sidewalk Sale held in the parking lot of the Brookwood Shopping Center at the corner of Midvale Boulevard and the Beltline. Above: The fair moved to the promenade around the Capitol in 1964.
For many of us who grew up here, the Art Fair on the Square was the first time we encountered art and artists. I have a dim memory of attending in the (gulp) mid-1960s, when I was in elementary school. I still recall my boyish and breathless fervor for an exquisite piece: a clarinet made into a lamp. I had never seen anything like it, and I thought it wildly inventive and amazing.
Kathleen Woit’s first visit to the event was formative. As a girl she attended one of the early art fairs, when it was billed merely as a sidewalk sale. “The whole thing was just very impressive,” she recalls. “The artists were almost all painters, and they were fine artists.”
Notably absent was clarinet art. “It was not a craft show,” says Voit.
Besides inspiring a love of the arts, the fair sparked a lifetime of volunteerism and giving. In her 20s, Woit began volunteering at the fair. Over time she also volunteered for its parent organization, the Madison Arts Center. She served as president of the Madison Community Foundation and helped support the Art Center as it moved into the new Overture Center for the Arts. In 2003 the Arts Center renamed itself the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (MMoCA).
“So I know a lot about the evolution of [MMoCA] and where it is now, which is a miracle and a wonderful thing,” she says.
The art fair was not always on the streets around the Capitol Square. Originally, it was held at the Brookwood Shopping Mall, at Midvale Boulevard near the Beltline. In 1964, it moved to the promenade that frames the Capitol itself, immediately adjacent to the building.
There was no food, no tents, no entertainment, none of today’s festival trimmings. “There were no distractions at all,” Woit says. “It was what I would call a very fine arts exhibit. It was the perfect stage for people to show their talent. It couldn’t have been more impressive.
“I remember walking around,” adds Woit, who grew up in Fitchburg. “We were pretty much in awe of the fact that we were on the Capitol grounds at all, as kids! And the fact that we were so close to the entrances to the Capitol. The reason I was there at all was because my cousin was in it. He was getting an art degree from [the University of] Notre Dame and he later became an art professor. So that made it imperative that we visit.”
The early fairs hosted around 50 artists. (The show has grown to include 500 artists in 2018.) “It was very much directed at painters who — at the time — I believe, were quite successful. For example, Aaron Bohrod,” UW-Madison’s artist in residence from 1948-73. “We knew he was getting to be famous.”
The painters were actually painting. They had easels and they were showing their work.
Over the years, as artists were added, displays creeped down the sidewalk approaches to the Capitol, toward the streets. In 1977, the art fair took the name that remains today. “The evolution was systematic, and it took some time,” she says.
In the early days, before there was an endless stream of events and festivals in the city, it was a way to bring Madison together. “That was pretty much it for a long, long time.”
On and Off the Square: an artful coexistence
The Art Fair on the Square is an event featuring 500 artists chosen from submissions sent from around the country. The booths ring the Capitol Square, and the Emerge Block spans the 100 block of State Street. It’s the largest fundraiser of the year for the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. This is the 60th year of the annual event.
The Art Fair Off the Square, now in its 39th year, runs along both sides of the 200 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and onto the Olin Terrace walkway leading to the Monona Terrace Convention Center. It is also a juried fair, run by the Wisconsin Alliance of Artists and Craftspeople Inc. This year’s event features 130 Wisconsin artists. Booths include paintings, sculptures, jewelry, mosaics, musical instruments, woodwork, glass and fiber arts. The High School Clay Coalition offers a variety of pottery made by students, faculty and alums.
Both fairs run July 14 (9 a.m.-6 p.m.) and July 15 (10 a.m.-5 p.m.).
This story is part of a series on the 60th anniversary of the Art Fair on the Square. You can access the full series here.
Editor's note: We corrected this story to reflect the fact that the first art fair, in 1959, was known as the “Sidewalk Art Show.” It took place in the parking lot of the Brookwood Shopping Center at the corner of Midvale Boulevard and the Beltline. The fair moved to the promenade around the Capitol in 1964 and was named the Art Fair on the Square in 1977.