Photo by Erin Nelson.
John Beck Troha, 4, looks at an array of metal sculptures crafted by William Colburn, an iron artist with Iron Age Studio in Birmingham, during the Bluff Park Art Show in October 2021. The long-running show will be at the Hoover Met this year.
For the first time in 59 years, The Bluff Park Art Show is moving to a new location for 2022.
The show has always been held at the Park at Shades Cliff on Cloudland Drive in Bluff Park, but construction of a new pavilion there prompted the Bluff Park Art Association to move this year’s show to Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, said Heather Skaggs, a board member and spokeswoman for the association.
The association’s board was concerned that it would not be safe for artists, guests and children to be moving around a construction site, and city officials could not guarantee that the project would be completed by Oct. 1, the date of this year’s show, Skaggs said.
The association considered several other sites, including Aldridge Gardens and the Hare Farm in Bluff Park, but decided the Hoover Met would be the best place, she said.
One important consideration was making sure there will be enough room for both the artists and all the guests, but probably the biggest factor in choosing the Hoover Met is that there is plenty of parking there and no shuttle buses would be necessary, Skaggs said. Shuttle buses have been the No. 1 expense for the show at the Park at Shades Cliff, she said.
“If they were going to have to move the show, they might as well find a place where shuttles will not be necessary and save that money,” Skaggs said.
Also, there are permanent restrooms at the Hoover Met, so there will be no need to rent portable toilets, she said. The setup at the Hoover Met also will be more accessible for people in wheelchairs.
The plan is to put the artists’ tents in the part of the parking lot closest to the stadium, down both the first base and third base sides, Skaggs said.
The artists have been receptive to the Hoover Met as a location, she said.
This year, the juried show should include about 130 artists, 42 of whom will be first-time participants, Skaggs said. One hundred and three of the artists are from Alabama, while there are eight from Georgia, six from Tennessee, five from Mississippi, two from Florida, and one each from Arkansas, Louisiana, Rhode Island and Virginia.
The artists will showcase a variety of mediums, including painting, woodworking, pottery, jewelry, leather, textiles, metal, glass, photography and mixed media.
This year’s judge is Anne Perry-Uhlman, director of the Fayette Art Museum. Perry-Ulhman also serves as director of the Upward Bound math and science program at Bevill State Community College.
She studied art education at the University of North Alabama and got her master’s degree in education from the University of South Alabama in 2006.
The Bluff Park Art Show, as usual, will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Food trucks expected to be there are Alabama Peanut Co., Down East Lobster Co., G.R.’s Smokehouse, Sno Biz, Southern Coffee and Waffles, Stacked & Stuffed, Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee and Urban Pops. Students from the Suzuki Talent Education Program (playing violin, viola and cello) are scheduled to provide music.
The Bluff Park Art Association usually gives out about a dozen awards, ranging in price from $300 for the popular vote award to $2,500 for the association’s Permanent Collection Purchase Award — the top prize.
Organizers are welcoming volunteers to help at the event and sponsors for awards. Sponsorships begin at $100. To become a sponsor, email bpaa.sponsorships@gmail.com or bluffparkartshow@gmail.com.
For more information about the art show, go to bluffparkartassociation.org/art-show-schedule.
Bluff Park Art Show
WHERE: Hoover Metropolitan Stadium
WHEN: Oct. 1, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
COST: Free admission and parking
WEB: bluffparkartassociation.org/art-show-schedule
