Montauk Pioneer - May 22, 2009 - Montauk Fine Arts Fest

Montauk on Memorial Day weekend, people say, has it all: sun, sea, food and fun. But there may be something you haven't seen before in Montauk: over 10,000 works of fine art by 100 of the nation's top-rated artists.

For the second year, the Montauk Fine Arts Festival brings together fabulous artwork in a single location. After a heralded inaugural year in 2008, when the festival was ranked #55 among the nation's outdoor art shows, the Montauk Fine Arts Festival moves to a new venue: the Plaza Green. Here, on the cool summer grass, you can linger among works in clay, fiber, wood glass, jewelry, leather, metal, painting, photography, sculpture-and more.

The scene at the Montauk Fine Arts Festival is overwhelmingly fun. There are countless amounts of people running around and purchasing art and children all walk around with big smiles as they admire their favorite works. Although art is the focus, there are plenty of opportunities to buy handmade jewelry, which is of course art that you can wear. Purchasing a custom made piece of jewelry for your wife or girlfriend is always a wonderful thing to do and shows your love, but it will also be a very memorable piece of jewelry because it will be one of the only pieces of its kind in the whole world.

There are also amazing works of photography, often gorgeous scenes from Montauk that simply stun you. Our personal favorite here at the Montauk Pioneer is the leather goods that the show offers. There is something magical about owning a hand crafted leather bag that makes you enjoy it forever.

Montauk is extremely lucky to host such a high quality fine arts festival with so many wonderful artisans showing off their works. There are few places in the world that offer such high quality art in such a beautiful setting. The Montauk Fine Arts Festival is an example of Montauk at its best, showing off what it does best, which is provide an excellent venue for an excellent show.

And unlike most gallery shows, you can meet and interact with the creators of these artworks: every artist will be available on-site during the show's three days, Saturday through Monday, May 23 - 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. What is wonderful and different about this experience is that you can speak with the artist yourself and gauge what his inspiration was for the work and what it means to him or her. This is a huge bonus of the show, because many times you don't get the opportunity to do this at other galleries. Many of the artists have work collected internationally, as well, and are represented in the nation's finest museums and public art collections. We are talking about top notch artists here that are very well known, and they are going to be in Montauk, so definitely mark your calendar. Admission is free. But whether you plan to stroll through the art for an hour or a day, bring your wallet: you are certain to find a piece of art-or a few-you will not be able to live without.

The Montauk Fine Art Festival is hosted by the Montauk Chamber of Commerce and directed by Paragon Art Events, the leading promoter of fine art festivals in the Northeast. If you want to learn more about the festival or if you are interested in learning more about the artists that are going to be there, or if you are an artist yourself and want to be a vendor at the festival than you can visit montaukartshow.com or call 631-688-2428 for show information.