When Royal Bison announced it would be winding down its popular fair, many people in Edmonton were disappointed. An artist friend of mine promised it was being replaced with a new, even “radder” fair. I think they were right – OddBird is helmed by a team of artists with big ideas for how to elevate Edmonton’s art scene.
Over beers on the SugarBowl patio, Genevieve Ongaro, Zeph Mitchell and Tracy Niven told me about their ambitions for the new fair, what makes Edmonton’s art scene unique, and what OddBird’s place is in a city so saturated with art walks and craft fairs.
“We felt that it was an important event in the community. And to keep it going was really important, because shopping aside, it’s also so nice to be able to have an opportunity to come together as vendors and talk to other people, and spend time and see other people’s work and just chat about ideas,” says Ongaro.
As artists and former Royal Bison vendors, they know how important these spaces can be for artists’ development, the opportunity to get out of the studio and connect with other creators.
“Everyone’s so generous and kind too, and everyone’s very willing to kind of share what they have and teach each other,” says Ongaro.
The three organizers talked about the number of local shops closing in the wake of the pandemic and skyrocketing inflation, and the hit that’s been to the local art community. The places where artists and designers once sold their wares have closed their doors, so artists are turning to markets like OddBird for more of their revenue.
“I think people have less disposable income to work with. So the fact that people are still making that effort and still want to support [OddBird] is huge,” says Niven.
While there is a glut of markets in the city, OddBird hopes to continue to distinguish itself by focusing on the vendors and their needs – and keeping a top-notch vendor list. OddBird is held in the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre, where Royal Bison also called home. Keeping it small, the organizers say, helps them keep the vendor list curated, and select the artists they think can really succeed in the fair, with a mix of new vendors and old familiar favourites from the Royal Bison days.
“There’s not a lot of like markets in Edmonton that are really focused on design-driven and art driven products in the same kind of curated way that we are,” says Niven, a graphic designer and artist.
Edmonton’s art community, while small, punches above its weight.
“It may be surprising to some people that we have such a strong, creative community, for a smaller city,” says Ongaro. “It’s super important then to focus on those Edmonton-based vendors.”
Mitchell adds that the community support from people in Edmonton is also unique – the strong arts community is complemented by a strong art-buying community of people who champion local artists and businesses. By focusing on the best local artists, OddBird is trying to keep Edmonton weird, and fight the homogenization wrought by Etsy and Amazon and AliExpress.
All three were buzzing with excitement for all their plans for nurturing local talent under the OddBird banner. Most of these projects are still in the works, but safe to say, OddBird is always looking for ways to elevate new artists and bring more people into the fold.
“We want to encourage all the weirdos and artists to keep getting out there and creating stuff,” says Tracy.
“The Odd Birds!” Zeph adds.
OddBird Art & Craft Winter Fair
Nov. 29-Dec. 1
Dec. 6-8
Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre, 8426 Gateway Blvd.
