The artist is completely focused, a black oil crayon in her hand as she repeatedly draws a small circle on a vibrant teal canvas. She is unbothered by the three people closely observing her every movement, and doesn’t seem to register my entrance into this bright white room inside the National Gallery of Victoria.

The artist is a robot; more specifically, Basia is a 30kg “Spot” robot dog designed by Boston Dynamics. You’ve probably seen videos of these dogs opening doors, climbing stairs and decorating Christmas trees, while performing eerily fluid actions that cause people to write comments like, “Can’t wait to have a pack of these chase me through a post-apocalyptic urban hellscape!” The robots are designed to perform tasks that are dangerous for humans: they tend to be bought by mining and construction corporations, as well as police and the military. You may have also seen them enforcing social distancing in Singapore, delivering food to hostages during a home invasion in Queens, dancing in a baseball stadium in Japan, or even in an episode of The Book of Boba Fett. Now you can watch them paint.

From next week, three Spots named Basia, Vanya and Bunny will begin a four month residency at the NGV’s Triennial in Melbourne, where they will be creating art in their purpose-built studio. It feels like a clinical creche: there are docking stations where the robots “sleep” and recharge their batteries; little cubes of QR codes are scattered about like toys, telling the robots where they are in the space.

All of this is being overseen by Agnieszka Pilat, artist of choice among Silicon Valley’s venture capitalists and a former artist in residence at SpaceX and Boston Dynamics. For years Pilat has both painted tech and trained tech to paint. She is a self-described techno-optimist who loves the robots: she even lives with Basia, and takes her for walks around her neighbourhood in New York City.

“You know old cat ladies?” she says to me. “It is my dream to be an old robot lady. And 50 years from now, I think it’ll be possible.”

Not everyone loves the robots as much as she does. When Pilat walks Basia in New York she always wears matching yellow, to signal to any alarmed passersby that the robot has a human companion. “If the robot comes with a human, it is better – a woman, even more so,” she says. “It takes off the edge a little bit.”

That police forces keep buying Spots hasn’t helped. When the New York police department sent one equipped with cameras into a home invasion in the Bronx, and another into a hostage situation in Manhattan, there was fierce backlash, with Spots becoming a symbol for misplaced funding priorities – the basic model starts at US$74,500 a piece – mass surveillance fears, and heavy-handed policing in poor communities. “Now robotic surveillance ground drones are being deployed for testing on low-income communities of color with under-resourced schools,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. The NYPD briefly cancelled its contract with Boston Dynamics but in April this year announced it was buying two kitted-out Spots for $750,000.

Last year Boston Dynamics spearheaded an open letter pledging they would not weaponise their robots or allow individuals to do so. The lack of weaponry on Basia still doesn’t quell the instinctual repulsion I feel, the suspicion that she might suddenly run at me at any moment.

“We have this,” Pilat says, patting the knee-high barrier that surrounds the studio, “because even I don’t even touch them. It is really a safe place.”

“I know people think, the robots are coming,” she says, feigning terror. “No – they’re awkward, they’re like little kids!” She sees my face, and adds: “My first reaction is probably no different than yours. I don’t really understand them, to be honest. That’s why I have to work with engineers. But I understand that they’re fascinating.”

Pilat has been working with an engineer and her assistant to shape the robots’ “personalities” through a collage of AI, software and machine learning. Basia is “the serious one”, completely focused on her painting; Vanya is the “mother of the group” who will pace around the space observing; and Bunny is a show-off who will, according to her programming, frequently wander over to pose in a window specially designed for selfies.

“Art is the background for selfies – that is what it has become, right?” Pilat says bluntly. “I don’t deplore it – when you go to museums, people are all taking selfies. But we’re totally embracing it. People will want to take pictures with the robots.”

Basia will paint roughly one canvas every three days: 36 in total, which will form a kind of robot manifesto told through 16 symbols; a primitive, pictorial language of squares, lines and circles Pilat designed based on the robots’ physical capabilities.

“It’s almost like kindergarten,” she says. “Basia will make mistakes.” Are they able to surprise her? “Not often. But sometimes they do something we didn’t expect and you get goosebumps. Of course, it’s all programming – but it’s the ghost in the machine.”

Pilat is uniquely shaped by technology. She grew up behind the iron curtain in Łódź, Poland, and vividly remembers her first encounter with technology: seeing adults gathered around a radio in a locked room, covertly listening to Radio Free Europe. “Technology was giving us hope, to my parents,” she says. “I truly feel technology has been always there for me. And now there’s lots of unease towards technology, I feel a debt to repay my old friend.”

Pilat moved to Silicon Valley in 2004. Having studied illustration and painting, she developed a theory that, as portraiture captured the aristocracy of the past, it should now capture today’s elite: the machine. She approached engineers at Boston Dynamics and asked to paint a robot. OK, they said – but why just paint it when you could play with it?

Pilat frequently refers to herself as a “propaganda artist” for machines, a reference to her upbringing in communist Poland where “art was all propaganda, art told you what to do”. Later she admits she is being deliberately provocative. “It is a little bit sarcastic – I’m playing at being 100% for technology, which is very controversial. Of course there are valid concerns about technology. But I chose to engage with it and train it. It’s my way of dealing with the problem.”

You do have a company logo emblazoned across the face of your art, I point out. “Removing the logo is a breach of contract,” she replies. “I’m under NDA so there’s only so much I can disclose, but I’m very mindful of being financially dependent on a company. And I’m not [financially dependent on Boston Dynamics] because it puts in question what I’m doing. I don’t work for Boston Dynamics. I work for the robots.”

Boston Dynamics is not paying Pilat to use its robots: she owns Basia, leased Vanya and borrowed Bunny from RMIT. But isn’t she wary of the good PR that comes from the robots doing something nice like painting, rather than frightening people in the Bronx?

“It is the [Boston Dynamics] engineers that want me to do this, not the marketing people or the CEOs,” she says. “I guess I do put a softer edge on the robots. But on the other hand, I’m a bit of a problem for them too because they don’t really need me. I come in and do silly stuff with the robots.”

She adds: “I will tell you a secret. It’s much easier for me to sell work that I paint myself, with my human hands, to collectors. There is a resistance to machine-made work. But I think this work is much more important than my own.”

It is her belief that “silly stuff with robots” is helping people come to a better understanding of our future with robotics and AI, a more complex view than what they see in YouTube videos of robots being controlled by cops. “Part of why I’m excited to do this is because I understand the fear,” she says. “I do think we have a different relationship when you meet them. When I take them on a walk, people are nice. They ask questions. If they have concerns, they’ll tell me. But when a video of me walking Basia ends up online, that’s when people start screaming at me.”

The NGV show is a first in many ways: it is Pilat’s biggest show and it is also the first time she is leaving her robots to their own devices. “I will miss them,” she says. “They are celebrities – when I come with the robots, it is an exciting thing. If it’s just poor little me, it is like I don’t even exist. Nobody wants to take pictures with me on the street.”

• The NGV Triennial will run from 3 December to 7 April

Against a backdrop where the global luxury market will grow between 8% and 10% across all categories, the personal luxury segment’s growth is more muted, projected to advance by only 4% in 2023 at current exchange rates, according to the latest Bain-Altagamma luxury market study.

The total luxury market will reach $1.65 trillion (€1,508 billion) this year, including automobiles, experiences, wines and spirits, home furnishings and art. Personal luxury goods will account for 24% of the market and close the year with about $400 billion (€362 billion) in revenues. This segment includes clothing, fashion accessories, beauty, jewelry and watches.

Summing up the year that almost was, report co-author Claudia D’Arpizio said in a statement, “This is a defining moment for brands, and the winners will separate themselves through resilience, relevance, and renewal—the basics of the new value-centered luxury equation.”

Yet, looking forward to 2024, D’Arpizio signals cautious optimism for the personal luxury goods sector, which may well slow from its 4% rate of growth this year to something less next, noting “fragile consumer confidence, macroeconomic tensions in China and spare signs of recovery in the U.S.”

And along with those headwinds is the possibility of even more from the “disruptive changes in the global sociopolitical situation,” a diplomatic way of saying the world hangs in the balance.

Solid Fundamentals

While emphasizing the luxury industry’s strong fundamentals that provide “unparalleled resilience” for luxury brands, co-author Federica Levato acknowledged in a call that there were many bumps along the road, specifically luxury consumers’ uncertainty in the face of a potential economic slowdown.

They are already delaying discretionary purchases, even as their income and wealth remain solid.

“There are soft aspects in their willingness to buy, which is equally relevant to the hard data about the number of people able to spend on these items,” she said, adding that the engine for growth over the long term is the “increasing convergence between products and experiences.”

“Convergence among luxury markets will unleash further expansion in the intermediate term and going forward,” she said and described the convergence as personal luxury brands offering more experiences in-store, opening restaurants, hotels and other experiential venues and romancing goods brands beyond the thing itself to the feelings and experiences owning and wearing it gives.

Conversely, experiential brands are also expanding into products and retail, yielding “relevance over different episodes of the customers’ lives.”

Despite the existential talk of convergence, the data reveals a growing polarization in the market that will separate the winners from the losers in the coming year.

This year, there will be fewer winners and more losers than last year, when 95% of companies enjoyed growth. In 2023, some 65% to 70% of brands will post positive results, yet looking back at the global recession of 2008-2009, the percentage of luxury brand winners dropped to 35%.

Hopefully, things won’t get so bad as during that previous crisis, but there appears to be more divergence than convergence in the data.

From Things To Experiences

A widening divide is evident in consumers’ preferences toward more experiences, specifically luxury hospitality, cruises and fine dining, as people are now free to travel. This category will advance 15% year-over-year.

In addition, more luxury consumers are partaking in what Bain defines as “experience-based goods,” specifically fine art, luxury cars, private jets and yachts, fine wines and spirits and gourmet food. These experienced-based goods will advance 10% this year over last, leaving luxury products to pick up the pieces.

Luxury products will grow a mere 3% this year. That includes personal luxury goods and high-end furniture/homeware, which will be lucky if it is flat over last year. This trend is credited to “normalization” as discretionary spending “rebalances toward lived-in experiences.”

Generational Differences

Having successfully transitioned from the Baby Boomer generation (born 1946-1964) to the younger GenXers (1965-1980) and Millennials (1981-1996), now luxury brands must pivot toward GenZ (born after 1997).

In 2016, Boomers accounted for nearly one-third of personal luxury good sales, GenX for 38% and Millennials for 27%. In 2023, Boomers’ share has dropped to 11% and GenXers to 24%, while Millennials are at 45% and GenZ has sprung to a 20% share market.

By 2030, Millennials will dominate (50% to 55%) and GenZ will hold 25% to 30% share, yet they will represent different sources of power for luxury brands in the near term.

Being older, GenX and Millennials will have the spending power, with Bain-Altagamma predicting that there will be six-to-eight times more “high-income” members of these generations over the next two years.

The younger GenZers’ power will be realized through their influence, being at the forefront of cultural and societal change and inspiring value shifts across older generations. “Luxury brands need to target them to reach their parents or older brothers and sisters,” Levato said.

Distinctive to the younger generation is their quest for meaning to define what matters most and a shift toward more “purposeful” purchases, emphasizing “lived experiences” and concern for the environment.

Yet, being only 25 years and younger, they are in the process of defining meaning and purpose in their own lives, so where luxury fits in their lifestyle is still being shaped. Millennials and GenXers are further along that journey.

Income/Wealth Inequality

With older consumers having the wealth and income on which luxury brands’ revenues depend and younger consumers being influencers-in-chief for future growth, it presents a dichotomy for brands, especially as luxury goods prices have increased dramatically during the post-pandemic period.

The U.K.-based data analytics firm Edited found luxury prices are up 25% since 2019, making luxury goods increasingly unattainable for the so-called “aspirational” consumers or HENRYs (high-earners-not-rich-yet), a vital segment on which luxury brands have long relied upon for growth.

While the Luxury Institute and Bernstein analyst Luca Solca estimates that the top high-net-worth five-percenters account for 40% of the luxury industry’s revenues, the other 60% comes from those under that line.

“As wealth inequality increases globally, luxury brands are doubling down on an ever smaller slice of their clientele,” the New York Times reported as it observed luxury prices have gotten so high, “who can sustain this market?”

Luxury brands face a dilemma: whether to broaden their reach by expanding their entry-level offerings or lean into the true-luxury consumers who can afford their most exclusive products.

“There is always this paradox of growth for the industry because some of these brands are double-digit billion dollar businesses and need to grow by expanding the customer base,” Levato said. “But what is happening this year is that the core customer base is not growing, so brands must focus on their top spenders and key customers.”

Most recently, China has been the market the mega-luxury brands have tapped to expand their base, but in 2023, there has been a rebalancing of geographic distribution with the industry much less reliant on Chinese consumers.

In 2019, the Chinese accounted for one-third of personal luxury goods revenues; they will drop to between one-fifth to one-fourth in 2023. On the other hand, Americans have grown their share, from 22% in 2019 to between 29% to 31% in 2023. And that presents another challenge for luxury brands.

U.S. A Bellwether of Outlier?

The U.S. luxury market has progressively slowed down throughout 2023. This is especially problematic since Bain-Altagamma estimates about 50% of the world’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals live in the Americas.

The year will close with the Americas down 8%, making it the only geographic market experiencing a decline. And with Europe enjoying a 7% growth spurt in 2023, partly driven by Americans spending overseas, the Americas will relinquish its position as the world’s largest luxury market to Europe, $111 billion in revenues to Europe’s $112 billion.

Yet American consumers still account for the largest share of luxury spending worldwide (29% to 31%), and that’s the biggest challenge for luxury brands in 2024.

“The U.S. is rapidly falling into a luxury recession, if it isn’t already there,” shared Chandler Mount, founder of the Affluent Consumer Research Company (ACRC), a firm with which I am affiliated.

The ACRC’s latest survey of U.S. affluent luxury consumers (average income, about $400k) finds their financial confidence has dropped from an index of 64.2 points in June, the highest it’s been all year, to 55.6 points in October, its lowest. And the index measuring future luxury spending declined from 58.3 points in June to 49.7 points.

“This is telling me that the growth in luxury spending is likely to stop in the near term, but I’m not sure yet if it will turn into a decline,” he added.

Across the 22 luxury goods and services/experiential categories included in the survey, all but one – premium airline cabin seating – showed a downward shift in purchase incidence over the last three months.

Particularly hard hit were luxury brand fashion accessories and leather goods, down from 21% purchase incidence in July to 11% in October and luxury brand fashion apparel, off from 25% to 19%.

“We are heading into a period of lower spending due to the perception that it’s becoming more expensive to live well,” Mount observed.

If that is happening here, it stands to reason that it will spread because the uncertainty affecting U.S. luxury consumers is also affecting others.

“Wars and rumors of war, plus the resulting humanitarian crisis, make people scared and not want to spend. ‘Politics’ is taking center stage over ‘Policy’, causing uncertainty about wealth creation and its sustainability,” Mount said. “And then there’s inflation and rising cost of living affecting a wider swath of upper-income people, impacting their discretionary spending power.”

The Bain-Altagamma report provocatively asks, “2023: Are we in a defining moment in luxury market history?” to which the only answer is “Yes.”

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One of the fastest growing career fields is AI. However, given its nacency, it is difficult for those interested to navigated the terminology and job search process. For marketers interested in understanding how to break into the field, I sought insight from Marc Cenedella, founder of Leet Resumes and The Ladders, and author of seven Amazon Careers #1 bestsellers.

To break into AI, there are two sides, suggests Cenedella. There are “the people who build AI and those who use AI. The people who build AI, like the team at OpenAI which built ChatGPT, are developers. They’ll have titles like ‘Software Programmer,’ ‘Data Engineer,’ and ‘Machine Learning Engineer.’

For those more likely to be on the side using AI as a tool. They’ll see job titles like ‘AI Prompt Engineer,’ ‘AI Integration Specialist,’ and ‘AI Content Reviewer.’”

With regards to where marketers might fit best, Cenedella suggests that they may be able to fill “AI Prompt Engineer” jobs in marketing-related fields. He also suggests that they might “design prompts to elicit excellent social media post copy or prompts to guide AI to create interesting art designs. They could also work as ‘AI Trainers.’ These professionals teach AI how to deliver better results within specific fields.

However, Cenedella believes it will be more common for marketing professionals to use AI within job descriptions rather than as job titles. “AI skill requirements will find their way into most jobs. For example, a Social Media Coordinator may see a requirement to understand and implement ChatGPT to create social media calendars. Eventually AI will be as common a workplace skill as email.”

In general, Cenedella indicates that companies want employees who are excited about learning and embracing new technology. “Prompt engineering is brand new. Nobody is an expert (yet), so this is a unique and remarkable opportunity.

Think about it like applying at the Wright Brothers’ airplane company in 1909. No one knew how to make airplanes – most people didn’t even know what airplanes were. The Wright brothers needed people who were enthusiastic about learning. Your ability to talk with infectious enthusiasm about the latest developments in AI will set you apart.”

Join the Discussion: @KimWhitler

Marc Cenedella, founder of Leet Resumes and The Ladders, is a nationally recognized thought leader on careers, resume writing, job search, career management and recruiting. He is the author of seven Amazon Careers #1 bestsellers, including Ladders Resume Guide and Ladders Interviews Guide. Hailing from Fredonia, New York, Marc holds an MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School, where he was named a Baker Scholar, as well as a B.A. in Political Science from Yale College.

On Saturday, The Jacobson House Native Art Center hosted the first of its two day holiday art market.

“Understanding the different types of arts that are promoted and just beautifully made throughout the state of Oklahoma, there’s so much that our artists can provide,” said Tracey Satepauhoodle-Mikkanen, Board Emeritus of the Oscar Jacobson Foundation.

And that’s exactly what Oscar Brousse Jacobson saw in native Oklahoma artists more than 100 years ago. Satepauhoodle-Mikkanen said the Jacobson Foundation has been holding the holiday art market for some 30 plus years in the house where it all started.

“When he built this house, he established certain protocol and classes to help the native students that he saw had a potential and taught classes out of here,” she said.

At the market, several different types of art are on sale, from paintings, to patterned fabrics, beads, jewelry and plenty more, all made by Native American artists. And Satepauhoodle-Mikkanen said the art market is off to a successful start this weekend.

“There are some people who know every year that this is coming up, so they’re very helpful and supporting our cause, so they know that there’s different artists here that are gonna be presented. And it’s Christmas time, so we’re able to help each other and buy Christmas presents from our vendors,” she said.

Presents of art that Jacobson recognized as significant many years ago, allowing the art market to flourish into what it is today.

“The art that Dr. Jacobson realized was very unique, that the Kiowa artists were able to produce was something that he saw was a very important aspect of the state of Oklahoma, the Kiowa Nation itself, and then of course the artists,” she said.

Satepauhoodle-Mikkanen said several artists signed up for this year’s market, adding that money made from the market not only helps the artists and vendors, but also helps the Jacobson House.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Julietta Market and Art Inc. Kentucky are collaborating to have a Winterfest Market every Saturday leading up to Christmas.

Connie Bruce and her husband, John, started Spectrum Crafters eight years ago. The couple set up a table at the first Winterfest Market event on Saturday.

“This was such a good opportunity to come back out into Lexington and show our stuff and support, especially Julietta Market because we’re passionate about their mission,” said Bruce.

She and her husband have been vendors at the Julietta Market since 2020. Bruce said it has helped their business.

“It was great,” said Bruce. “It was so good to have because we are not the kind of business that could really go into like a brick-and-mortar store.”

However, the Julietta Market closed at the end of October. With the holidays around the corner, Bruce has been concerned about the impact the closure would have on her business.

“We’ve been scrambling to find pop-ups around the area and actually, we even went out to Owensboro a couple weeks ago for a show just to try to make up that loss in business,” said Bruce.

That’s why she is happy to sell items at the Winterfest Market since this time of year has always been their busiest time. The couple had several items for sale Saturday, including oven mitts, kitchen aprons and glass bottle wind chimes.

The markets will take place every Saturday until Dec. 16 and will go from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Met in Lexington’s East End.

ZANESVILLE, OH- In honor of Small Business Saturday, we take an inside look at The Elk’s Eye Art Market, an art retail space, here in Zanesville, Ohio.

The Elk’s Eye Art Market opened in July of this year and is ran by Carol Bridwell alongside her two daughters, Stephanie and Alicia. The buisness is inside of a building with a lot of historic signifigance in the area. The Elk’s Eye Art Market was a team effort, with the whole family coming together to repair the building for use.

“Elk’s Eye Endeavors was formed to provide opportunities, specifically for artists to get their work out where it can be seen by an audience all the time, instead of just occasionally at shows and that sort of thing, many of the artists that we have here did shows and it’s too sporadic, it’s not a very good way to sell your art, and you may find a customer who loves your work but they aren’t going to come find you at your home, or your workshop, so we were looking for a space to provide that, to provide it in downtown Zanesville,” says Carol Bridwell.

There are currently over 20 different local artists featured with their unique works for sale in the space. They also hold fun events throughout the year and invite the whole community to come and enjoy the atmosphere.

“The local businesses, they are our community, they are us, we need to support each other to make our community stronger, to make our businesses more successful and it’s unique, you go to a chain store, or whatever, whether it’s a restaurant or whether it’s a retail store, it’s just the same all over the country, here, this is our personality,” says Bridwell.

To find out more about The Elk’s Eye Art Market, or the history of the building their located in, you can visit them at 22 South 4th Street, or on their Facebook and Instagram pages at Elk’s Eye Endeavors.

Organizers are aiming to uplift inclusivity in the Lawrence holiday market scene with a new event this December, and there’s still room for more vendors to sign up.

Moniqué Mercurio (Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation), Lawrence artist and organizer, says she’s witnessed the need for authentic spaces where BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) community members can showcase their art during the holidays.

She also feels community members want more holiday markets where they can support BIPOC vendors and see themselves represented.

An idea Mercurio had turned into the first “Inclusive Holiday Market.”

“The Inclusive Holiday Market is more than just a shopping experience,” the Facebook event page says. “It’s a celebration of diversity and inclusivity. We are proud to showcase a variety of vendors from different backgrounds and cultures, ensuring that everyone feels welcome and represented.”

Mercurio, owner of MercTribe Designs, partnered up with Taylor Overton and Black:30 to get to planning.

They hoped their collaboration would be a recipe for uplifting local BIPOC artists and businesses. Art Love Collective, where Mercurio serves as the community outreach director, is the event sponsor.

Accessibility for vendors was a high priority for organizers, Mercurio says. Those selling their work at the market do not pay any vendor fees, and tables and supplies will be available for free.

Attendees will be able to shop handmade crafts, desserts, accessories and more in the midst of holiday music and festive scenes. Local vendors will also be selling food and refreshments throughout the day.

The Inclusive Holiday Market is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16 at the Lied Center of Kansas, 1600 Stewart Drive. Admission is free.

There are 77 vendors registered so far, but there’s room for more as organizers have reserved the entire Lied Center for the event, Mercurio says. Vendors interested in participating in the Inclusive Holiday Market should fill out the Google form for registration as soon as possible.

Visit the Facebook event page for more information and follow Black:30’s Facebook page to stay updated.

Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.

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Organizers are aiming to uplift inclusivity in the Lawrence holiday market scene with a new event this December, and there’s still room for more vendors to sign up.

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Community members flocked to Bizarre Bazaar, the annual two-day art market that kicks off the holiday season in Lawrence, as it opened Friday evening at the Lawrence Arts Center.

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The Lawrence and Douglas County area could see a few inches of snow accumulation Saturday into Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

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Bazaart: Local art and holiday shopping at the American Visionary Art Museum

Updated: 2:08 PM EST Nov 25, 2023

FOR SOMEONE WHO LIKES CRAFTY THINGS, WE’VE GOT YOU COVERED THIS WEEKEND. THE AMERICAN VISIONARY ART MUSEUM IS HOLDING ITS ANNUAL HOLIDAY BAZAAR ART. JOINING US WITH MORE ON WHAT TO EXPECT IS ARTIST SEAN THERON. GOOD MORNING. THANKS FOR HAVING ME BACK AGAIN. I WAS JUST HERE A FEW WEEKS AGO AND YOU KNOW, I REMEMBER YOU HAD ALL OF YOUR COOL ARTWORK. I HAVE ALL OF THE COOL ARTWORK AND NOW YOU’VE GOT THE CRAFTY THINGS. YEAH. AND I GOT ALL THE CRAFTY THINGS AND ALL THAT GOOD STUFF. A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT I HAVE THE BIG ART TRUCK. YES, THAT’S THAT TOLLS AROUND TOWN, WHICH IS A BLAST. BUT NOW WE’RE AT THE VISIONARY MUSEUM THIS WEEKEND. UNFORTUNATELY, THE TRUCK DOESN’T FIT IN THE BUILDING, SO NOW I’M GOING SANS THE TRUCK. NO WORRIES. BUT YOU’RE DOING BAZAAR ART. AND WHAT IS THAT? I AM DOING BAZAAR. BAZAAR IS THE VISIONARY MUSEUM’S BIG HOLIDAY ART SHOW. WE BRING IN A LOT OF GREAT ARTISTS FROM AROUND THE REGION AND A LOT OF LOCAL FOLKS AS WELL, INCLUDING ME, WHICH IS FUN AND WE IT’S A BIG CRAFT AND ART EVENT. YEAH. TELL ME ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS YOU GUYS WILL BE SHOWCASING. WELL, YOU KNOW, LUCKY ME, I GET TO BE LIKE IN THE KNOW WITH THE BALTIMORE ART COMMUNITY. SO I HAVE A LOT OF FRIENDS THAT HAVE A LOT OF REALLY GREAT, GREAT STUFF. THIS RIGHT HERE IS A WIRE REINDEER BY DEVIN MAC, WHO IS ALSO HIS. HE’S THERE. HE HAS A GREAT DISPLAY. HE IS DRAWN METAL STUDIOS. HE DOES A LOT OF REALLY GREAT ALL SORTS OF STUFF. BUT THIS IS HIS REINDEER. AND THEN WE HAVE MARK MAY, ONE OF HIS LITTLE YETIS. THAT’S SO CUTE. YEAH, TOTALLY. HE MAKES LITTLE WOODEN ROBOTS. BUT THIS IS ONE OF HIS ORNAMENTS THAT GO AROUND, WHICH IS JUST ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. UM, THEN, OF COURSE, WE HAVE A LITTLE SANTA ACTION GOING ON HERE. YOU GOT TO HAVE SANTA CLAUS. GOT TO HAVE SANTA’S GOT TO HAVE SANTA ON YOUR TREE. AND THIS IS ACTUALLY ONE OF MY ORNAMENTS. I LOVE THESE GLASSES. THESE. SO THESE. AND THEY LIGHT UP. YEAH. DO THEY TWINKLE? THEY CAN TWINKLE. THERE’S A BUTTON ON TOP THAT YOU CAN. OH, I LOVE THIS GHOST SPASTIC. HAVE A LITTLE FUN WITH IT ALL. YEAH. GIRL LIKE, HOW FUN WOULD THESE BE FOR ANY HOLIDAY PARTY? I’M THE PERSON THAT WOULD WEAR THESE. ABSOLUTELY. YEAH. AND, YOU KNOW, I WEAR MY LITTLE DECORATIONS. THIS IS ABOUT AS COOL AS THE TIE AS I CAN GET FOR THE HOLIDAYS, YOU KNOW? AND I DON’T DO TIES. SO THIS IS ABOUT AS HOW IT’S GOING TO BE. WE’LL TAKE IT AND YOU’VE GOT SOME ARTWORK AND THEN YOU KNOW SOME MORE ARTWORK BECAUSE WE LIKE TO LIKE TO SHOW OFF THE BALTIMORE ARTS. IT’S FUN BEING OUT THERE, OUT AND ABOUT HAVING A GREAT TIME GETTING TO MEET ALL THE PEOPLE AND BRINGING ALL THE FOLKS DOWN AND, YOU KNOW, GET AMAZING GIFTS FOR EVERYBODY. AND THIS EVENT IS FREE. AND IT’S ABSOLUTELY FREE. IT’S ON THE THIRD FLOOR TO THE THIRD BUILDING OF THE MUSEUM. BUT AFTERWARDS, YOU CAN GO TO THE MUSEUM ITSELF, WHICH IS JUST ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. YEAH, POP UP THAT QR CODE AND THERE’S MY QR CODE WITH MY WEBSITE. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN AFTER YOU’RE DONE, THE MUSEUM, THERE’S ALWAYS A MUSEUM STORE WITH THESE AMAZING GLASSES COME INTO PLAY. HEY, GLASSES. YEAH, YEAH. SO WE POP UP THE QR CODE. YOU CAN ALSO GO TO OUR WEBSITE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION. THERE YOU YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME THIS MORNING. THIS IS FROM SIDESHOW TO THE BEST MUSEUM STORE IN THE UNIVERSE. OH, MY GOSH. WELL, STAY WITH US. WE’LL HAVE MORE NEWS

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Bazaart: Local art and holiday shopping at the American Visionary Art Museum

Updated: 2:08 PM EST Nov 25, 2023

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Jenyne talks to a local artist about Bazaart: An annual craft marketplace at the American Visionary Art Museum. What you can expect to see, and the art that makes Baltimore the special city that it is.

Jenyne talks to a local artist about Bazaart: An annual craft marketplace at the American Visionary Art Museum. What you can expect to see, and the art that makes Baltimore the special city that it is.

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