In the 25th anniversary year of ArtWalk, San Diego’s premier outdoor art fair and one of the largest of its kind on the west coast, The Frame Maker is proud to lend a hand in keeping this event vibrant and alive as a supporting Event Sponsor.

In addition to sponsoring the event with some of the needed cash for tents, permits, printing and other details, TFM Programming Director John Hiemstra has taken the initiative with ArtWalk Director Sandi Cottrell to create “The Business of Art Scholarship”, a program designed to take a student from the San Diego State Art Department through the trajectory of participating in the ArtWalk experience while building the basic set of marketing tools that all artists need in general: a clear identity, conmsistent branding, print collateral for the weekend itself, and an evolving web presence to both build and communicate with her audience.

The first recipient of this scholarship is Jessica Siemens, finishing her junior year in the SDSU drawing & painting program. This is her painting “Face”, which won the Provost’s purchase award this spring as well as helping Jessica be selected for the “Business of Art” scholarship.

This painting is now part of the San Diego State University permanent collection, but will be on display at Mission Federal ArtWalk in San Diego’s Little Italy the weekend of April 25 & 26, 2009. Come down and see Jessica’s phenomenal work in person, and fins out more about San Diego Artist Services, a new program sponsored by The Frame Maker making its debut with Jessica at ArtWalk (and in these posts!) this April as well.