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PrintShowcasing Best of the West
Western Design Conference inspires, educates and entertains.
The Western Design Conference’s exhibit and sale, featuring Western furniture, jewelry and clothing, on Sept. 10 to 12 at the Snow King Center.
If the third time’s the charm, what have the first two Western Design Conferences held in Jackson been? Smashing successes? Wonderful additions to the Fall Arts Festival? A welcome broadening of the definition of western art? How about all of the above.
Now in its 17th year – Powder Mountain Press, LLC bought the conference in 2007 and moved it to Jackson from Cody – the Western Design Conference is the world’s preeminent exhibition and sale of functional Western-inspired art. Hundreds of artists apply for the 100 available spots. Gallery owners, scholars, collectors, and designers fly in from across the country to check out those who made the cut. Visitors ooh and ahh at the creativity and skill shown by the artists in different categories: metalworking, leather, accents, woodworking, jewelry and fashion. Everyone loves the conference’s signature Huckleberry Bellinis (available at the cocktail hour of the fashion show this year).
“The number of artists applying to the conference keeps growing,” says Allison Merritt, the conference’s event manager. “The exhibit and sale really is a must for fans of one-of-a-kind creations in both traditional and modern genres.”
The conference isn’t all spurs and saddles. And the tack, jewelry, fashion, furniture and metal pieces are cutting- edge rather than traditional.
“You look at a lot of the work and you wouldn’t immediately say that it’s Western,” says Mary Schmitt, owner of Cayuse Western Americana, the Jackson gallery that represents the winner of last year’s Best of Show Award, metalworker Susan Adams. “But stand next to someone who really knows the Western genre and they can explain how the contemporary piece in front of you actually carries on the legacy of some deceased Western craftsman. That’s what makes this show so unique – its contemporary edge. There isn’t another event out there like it.”
The Western Design Conference includes three events over three days. Of course there is the Exhibition and Sale. At the Pavilion at Snow King Center, this is where you can see pieces by each of the 100 artists selected to participate in the conference. Held Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., tickets cost $15 per day or $35 for a three-day pass.
“This is a smaller show than some of the others I do, but it’s the one I spend the most time looking at what the other artists have done,” says Adams, who won her Best of Show award with a silver hollowware vessel. “The caliber of work is incredible. As an artist you can’t help but be inspired. Some of the pieces – especially the furniture – are just amazing to me.”
Although its own entity, the Western Design Conference launches Fall Arts Festival. On Thursday, September 10, the Fashion Show kick-starts the conference and festival in the Center Theater at the Center for the Arts.
Showcasing Western inspired couture collections and jewelry from conference newcomers and veterans (including one who has designed pieces for Britney Spears, Robert DeNiro, and Mary J. Blige), the show starts at 6 p.m. with a champagne happy hour (that’s when you can also get a Huckleberry Bellini). Models hit the runway at 7. Tickets for the event start at $75.
If you can tear yourself away from the exhibit and sale on Saturday, September 12, there are four one-hour lectures on Western design-related topics. As of this magazine’s printing, the specifics hadn’t yet been nailed down, but Merritt promised a range that would include something for everyone. Open to the public, the Lecture Series is accredited by the American Institute of Architects and the American Society of Interior Designers for continuing education credits. But don’t think this means they’ll be boring. Last year’s lectures included “Furniture Design: Green Without Hugging a Tree,” “The Mighty Tiny House,” and “Recycled and Eco-friendly for Any Project.” Admission to all of the lectures is free with the purchase of a Saturday ticket.
For more information log on to www.westerndesignconference.com. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling (208) 354-3466.
