On October 12 and October 13, the annual Bethesda Row Arts Festival took over the intersection of Elm Street and Woodmont Avenue for a weekend-long celebration of the arts. Rows of small white tents lined the sidewalks, and a slow-moving river of art collectors, casual art aficionados, and families drifted from tent to tent. Artists traveled to Bethesda from across the country to showcase their work, and 45,000 people came to admire the art displayed.
The artists featured in the festival use a plethora of mediums, from paints to pastels, from cameras to clay. Some even combine mediums. “I would have fun doing glass, while the wood was my work, and combining the two seemed to make sense,” explained R.C. Sanford, a woodworker from Ohio who uses sustainably sourced hardwood and colorful glass to create accent lamps.
The Bethesda Row Arts Festival is constantly growing and evolving. “This year, for example, over 40% of the exhibiting artists were brand new to Bethesda Row,” said Jim Taglauer, the co-director of the Bethesda Arts Festival. The festival also boasted new installations this year, such as the “stARTer Gallery,” a collection of art from local artists aimed at introducing newcomers to art collecting.
Throughout all this growth and change, one thing has remained constant in the Bethesda Arts Festival: the Bethesda community. “I’ve been doing this show for about 15 years, and the reason I keep doing this show, year after year, is because I find that the audience here is particularly intelligent and knowledgeable about art,” said Jeffrey Cannon, a soft pastel artist from Texas whose work explores the emotive enchantment of nature.
Art shows like the Bethesda Arts Festival are especially invaluable resources for aspiring artists who are trying to find their artistic voices. “I remember when I was first getting started, I would look at [the] designs [of other artists], see the shapes and see what defined their style,” said Sanford. “Once I found the things I liked best, I started applying that knowledge to finding my own style.”
Article by Lynna Deng of Richard Montgomery High School
Photo by Audrey Li of Montgomery Blair High School