The Broome County Arts Council is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a new event designed to showcase the breadth of the local arts community. The first Broome Arts Festival will bring artists, musicians, performers and families together on State Street in Binghamton this month.
Broome County Arts Council Executive Director Jenny Chang says the festival grew out of the council's efforts to find new ways to connect local artists with the community.
“Ever since we started opening up a gallery back in 2018, we've been trying very hard to think of creative ways to connect with the community more,” Chang said.
The council has organized programs including the First Friday Art Walk and the Broome Arts Art Trail, a countywide open-studio event. Chang says the new festival gives local artists an opportunity to reach a larger audience in one place.
“All these wonderful local artists that we have in our county, and even some artists in the nearby counties, they really, really wish to share the same type of visibility, the crowd,” she said. “So we're bringing all of them down onto State Street, lining them up like an art market.”
More than 50 artists will have booths at the festival, offering pottery, textiles, mixed-media work, glass, woodwork, graphic design and other original creations. Chang says many of the artists are already familiar to visitors to the Arts Council's Artisan Gallery, while others are coming from neighboring counties.
The festival will also feature a full day of live performances, with music, poetry, dance and opera. Chang says the stage in the middle of State Street will keep the entertainment going throughout the event.
“We already have the lineup starting from 10 through ending at five,” she said. “It's a mix of music performance by some bands, and then there's poetry reading. We have Tri-Cities Opera performing, and we have a dance crew who will be performing on the street.”
The festival is intended to be welcoming to families as well. A children's activity area will offer free face painting, chalk art and a community drawing project.
“We hope that it is a really fun activity for everyone,” Chang said.
The Broome County Arts Council's own home on State Street will also be part of the festival experience. The organization moved to its current location at 223 State Street four years ago, and Chang says the space has become an important part of the revitalization of downtown Binghamton's arts district.
The Arts Council's quarters include three galleries, a retail section featuring work by local artists, an art classroom and an artist-in-residence studio. Chang describes the space as “small but mighty,” with a mission that goes beyond exhibiting art.
“We always love seeing people walking in, old friends or people who just pass by and kind of are curious and step in, and then just became a regular customer in the end,” she said.
The first Broome Arts Festival takes place Saturday, September 19, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on State Street in Binghamton, between Henry and Lewis Streets. The festival is free and family-friendly. For more information, visit broomearts.org.