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Date: 12/6/2022
HOLYOKE – Holyoke’s The Artery is opening their doors on Dec. 17 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a Holiday Market for anyone to stop by and get their holiday shopping on.
Located at 289 High St. adjacent to Crave, a popular Holyoke restaurant, there will be unique and handmade gifts when an additional eight vendors make an appearance at the Artery for a one-day event. The space is also open regularly on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
The Artery itself opened in the fall after the city secured some economic development grants for funding and is managed by Print Shop Inc., a Holyoke nonprofit running the DIY marketspace and classroom at 62 Main St. The Print Shop’s Executive Director Jeff Bianchine has had years of experience popping up vendor fairs and retail storefronts in downtown Holyoke since 2013. Bianchine also served as the former creative economy industries coordinator for Holyoke.
Bianchine said the space has work from about 70 artists already in the store. With additional room space throughout the building, it allowed for a “perfect opportunity” to host a holiday market space within the Artery.
“It’s sort of a win-win because there is just creates more foot traffic and more exposure for the Artery which is the store, and then it adds some holiday flair,” Bianchine said. “It’s also more of a reason other than just the store to come down here and see some other vendors. It’s just about creating events and atmosphere and foot traffic from these downtown experiences.”
Bianchine hopes The Artery can continue bringing people downtown and help increase foot traffic for the area. The project was initially funded by a Massachusetts Regional Economic Development Organization (REDO) grant managed by the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts He added they have secured funding for the space through 2023.
He also noted he doesn’t like to refer to the Artery as a pop up as the goals of the space are to maintain and continue growing and offering artists a space to showcase and sell work in the area.
“I don’t like to use the word pop up honestly because we really want this to be a permanent thing,” Bianchine said.
Funding has been crucial for the Artery as they are always looking for funding opportunities from the state or even private sources. The Artery shares 70 percent commission back to the artists for their work and takes the remaining 30 percent.
“The numbers don’t sustain the store itself, so part of it is having these art markets,” Bianchine said.
The Artery also offers various smaller events within their space like the splatter room where people can come in and throw paint to create splatter and drip paintings. Bianchine said events like these create revenue streams that help the nonprofit continue to run the space. You can also rent out spaces for birthday parties and other art events.
Bianchine encourages residents to come down to High Street and check out the Holiday Market, as well as the great talent they are fortunate enough to help provide a space for. He also noted most of the work artists bring in to share outside of bigger pieces of art are things like greeting cards and prints.
“There’s a crazy amount of talent in the valley,” Bianchine said. “I’m hoping for visibility and access for artists to find buyers. This is subsidized for now, but we are hoping it will become self sustainable.”
With solid turnout at previous events this year, Bianchine hopes the Holiday Market sees great turnout and people can see some of the great art local artists have to offer.
“Come on down, don’t worry about parking. It’s east, and it’s free. We need to get the word out there that it is safe, it is clean, you know, it’s like any other city,” Bianchine said of the Holiday Market at the Artery as well as making residents aware of some of the revitalization efforts downtown. “I look down High Street and it’s like from what I saw 10 years ago – it [revitalization] really is already happening. It looks beautiful with the Christmas decorations and the tree in front. If you have a chance during Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, it’s open, come and check it out if you haven’t.”