Dozens of tables decorated with art lined the inside of The Athenaeum. The air was bustling with noise from patrons and artists appreciating the art.
The second Athens Art Book Fair took place at The Athenaeum on June 22 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The free event featured 72 exhibitors ranging from printmakers to cartoonists.The event is funded by the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art, and the exhibitors pay a fee to have a table at the event. The event allows patrons to appreciate local artists and buy their work.
Lindsey Reynolds, an art librarian at the Lamar Dodd School of Art and a co-organizer of the Athens Art Book Fair, said that she wants the exhibitors to make money at the event and get entrepreneurial experience. She also hopes people and artists get more than just art from the event.
“I hope that people meet an artist whose work they really fall in love with and get to take home and experience in their personal life,” Reynolds said. “The relationships that the artists can make with each other can lead to future collaborations, publications[and] studio activities.”
The other co-organizers for the event include Jon Swindler, Christee Henry and Kathryn Manis.
This year, each exhibitor received half a table to allow for more exhibitors and a better flow. To be a part of the event, the exhibitors fill out a form that then gets approved by the event staff.
One exhibitor, Dyanne Horgan is a printmaker part-time and a graphic designer full-time. She graduated from UGA in 2019 with a degree in printmaking. Her table had graphic prints made using an offset printing process. In this method, the colors are all separately printed and layered. According to Horgan,she bought her own printing press in 2021 and taught herself.
“It was slow in the beginning and then once I got it, it was very fast,” Horgan said.” There’s a lot of background information you have to learn, learning how to prep your files for printing. It’s not just like throwing colors together, it’s a little bit more meticulous than that.”
Horgan stated that she is inspired by music and other art, and is fascinated with New York City in the 70s.
Another exhibitor, Josh Nickerson, is a full time graphic designer and part time cartoonist. He was at the event last year and has lived in Athens for over 20 years. He started making comics when he was in middle school inspired by Peanuts.
“I just hope they get a laugh out of [my comics],” Nickerson said.
Nickerson makes mini comics and has an ongoing comic series called “Melancholy,” which currently has three volumes and will have a fourth in the future. He posts process videos on his YouTube.
Exhibitor Amari Mitnaul, a full-time substitute teacher and freelance illustrator, graduated from UGA in 2022 with a degree in studio art. She makes original and digital art prints using water colors and digital tools. Her artwork is themed around whimsical storybook illustrations of women as princesses. She is inspired by her family and her work in libraries surrounded by books. She looks up to artist Annette Marnat, a French illustrator.
Joseph Mazzola, a comparative literature major and rising senior at UGA, has friends in the art space, some of whom were tabling at the fair. They came to the event last year and appreciated it this year. Mazzola wants Athens to keep its unique charm with the help from events like these along with the artists and their artwork.
“I want to keep Athens weird,” Mazzola said.
The event also had a creative space for people to create their own artwork which replaced the art workshops they had last year. The event will return next year for the third-annual Athens Art Book Fair.
