Pop-up market makes appearance at Street Art Festival
As part of the RVA Street Art Festival’s takeover of the downtown flood wall this past weekend, the Bizarre Market – a coalition of local artists selling handmade crafts, from the functional to the delicious to the simply sparkly – set up shop in the latest of its impermanent locations.
Brandon Singletary
Contributing Writer
As part of the RVA Street Art Festival’s takeover of the downtown flood wall this past weekend, the Bizarre Market – a coalition of local artists selling handmade crafts, from the functional to the delicious to the simply sparkly – set up shop in the latest of its impermanent locations.
The Market organizes what it calls pop-up markets at various RVA events, as well as a month-long market at Chop Suey Books during the holiday season to satisfy gifting needs. The popular holiday event is now held at Chop Suey’s new location across from the Byrd Theatre in Carytown from late November through Christmas Eve.
The “pop-up markets” themselves are set up in conjunction with events such as the Jonny Z Fest in August, Quirk Gallery, most recently the Street Art Festival and others, giving its artists the opportunity to showcase their work.
The Bizarre Market was founded by Chop Suey owner Ward Teft and local craft artist Anna Virginia in 2004, beginning originally as a sidewalk market beside the original Chop Suey Books near VCU. As the organization continued to grow in popularity in 2005, Richmond artist Bird Cox became the organizer for the holiday Bizarre Market and has since joined up with Ward to help manage pop-up markets as well.
Cox said that though the Market has no true affiliation with VCU, the group has maintained great relationships with numerous VCU art students who sell their work at many of the Bizarre Market’s events. The BZMK presents “a fantastic sales opportunity for young artists in the community,” and seeks out the kind of “fresh, modern and unusual” handmade items that VCU art students are so skilled in producing, she said.
The BZMK specializes in wide, unexpected range of crafts. Throughout the years they have sold items ranging from living terrarium ornaments, hand-printed organic t-shirts and stuffed zombie bunnies to painstakingly crafted jewelry, ceramics and more.
The group received the opportunity to participate in the Richmond Flood Wall Street Art Festival by invitation from organizer Ed Trask. CT
Interested vendors may email bizarremarket@gmail.com or visit their Facebook page for more information.
