Wearable Art Show
Dear Editor: The organizers of the 2023 Wearable Art Show cannot express their gratitude and amazement at this year’s show success. As the principal fundraiser for the Greater Sitka Arts Council, and after a three-year hiatus, it was absolutely stunning. The designs that were created and the assistance of so many helped to make this event one of the highlights of the year.
Thank you to our sponsors. We being with a thank you to Alaska Airlines, who has helped to support Wearable Art for many years and continued to support even during COVID-19 patiently assisting us with ways to bring this production to life. We would like to thank Artchange Inc. for working with us on several grants that allowed us to make this event possible. Thank you is also extended to the Alaska Council of the Arts and Humanities. To the Hames Corporation a huge thank you for your support. Without the financial support from these organizations, we couldn’t have gotten this event off the ground.
To all of our advertisers – KCAW, KIFW, Sitka Sentinel, Sitka Soup – we deeply appreciate your efforts in promoting our event. Cyndi at the Sentinel, your assistance with wording on PSAs was so valuable and Shannon, your article before the show helped us immensely. To Brooke and Erin, thank you for making us sound our very best as we went on the air at KCAW. Suzanne and Hannah at the Sitka Soup, your expertise in creating ads, promotions and posters proved to be such an amazing asset.
Old Harbor Books and the Backdoor, we say thank you. We so greatly appreciate that Old Harbor Books sold our tickets. This job is never easy, but the willingness to sell tickets is so valuable to so many, not simply GSAC. The Backdoor allowed for a wearable arts display in January to help drum up interest. It was fun to be a fly-on-the-wall to listen to comments as visitors to your establishment viewed the designs and images that were shown on the walls.
Our backstage assistance was incredible. To Elle Campbell for her lighting skills and Peter Apathy for his sound mixing, thank you. Thank you to Sugar Chic and Headquarters for their assistance with make-up and hair for the models. Melinda McAdams and Carole Knuth ran the back of the house with skill and efficiency. These components always make for a smooth show and happy participants.
Brooke and Elisabeth Schaffer helped to keep the show stay on pace. Emceeing is probably one of the most difficult jobs there is and they did it swimmingly.
The Harrigan Centennial Hall staff was fantastic. Their patience with our set up and break down is so greatly appreciated. Lynden Transport and MEHS for the runway usage and transportation of the runway. To BMS for allowing us to borrow risers for the artists to display their designs after the show. To UAS allowing us to borrow VIP tables. Thank you, all.
We had an incredible group of volunteers, the SHS foods class who helped create the charcuterie boxes, the SHS softball team for selling flower crowns, MEHS Honor Society for general assistance during the 2 p.m. show, Cheri Hample, Mara Kendall, Laura Rogers, Marlene Reinert and Kelly Schwartz for coming in and doing whatever needed to be done in the front or the back of the house. Without volunteers we wouldn’t have been able to make the event the success that it was.
There is no doubt that this show wouldn’t be possible without our designers and their incredible imaginations. Three years of working on designs brought out so much creativity. We can’t wait to see what you create for us next year. The ideas just keep flowing and the talent of each and every one of you is astounding, from the materials you decided to create with, the construction of the designs, to the models you selected and choreographed with. This is what makes this show! Thank you for your continued participation and not giving up on this event.
Finally, to you, the community of Sitka. Without your support and enthusiasm our fund raiser would have totally fallen flat. Thank you for purchasing tickets, cheering on our designers and models, and being so gracious with your comments. We look forward to the 2024 Wearable Arts Show. Mark your calendars now for February 10, 2024, when the creatives of Sitka bring their designs to the runway again. If you were inspired to create a piece or pieces for the upcoming show, keep an eye out for upcoming information and for registration information this fall.
With the utmost gratitude,
Tiffany Pearson, Bobbi Jordan and the Greater Sitka Arts Council
