Looking Back: Oil City Artists Sunday was a showstopper

​What are showstoppers?

Well... they are things that take your breath away or make you go hmmmm.

Arts Oil City has been working with rejuvenated energy to create those one-of-a-kind experiences. 

In November, they helped organize Artists Sunday to lay out a red carpet to connect creatively with artists and merchants.

It provided a chance to see original work by local and regional artists and to purchase said art to give to a loved one or friend. Art isn't an easy commodity, but if thought of correctly, it is an investment not only monetarily but sheer enjoyment-wise.

We have become a culture of clickers. We don't sit to enjoy a newspaper, we don't hang a picture on our wall to gaze at and contemplate. We quickly consume and move on. 

​Artists Sunday challenged folks to do more.

Artists Sunday in Oil City had dozens of artists on both the north and south sides set up in studios and established businesses with the hope they each drew people in to see what was the hullabaloo. 

Everything purchased was made by an artist.

Let me repeat: EVERYTHING PURCHASED IS MADE BY AN ARTIST.

Oil City's hosting of Artists Sunday was no accident. The city is loaded with talent that includes incredibly gifted authors, opera singers, two and three-dimensional artists and multimedia specialists.

And there is always room for more.

​What makes Oil City unique is the way it welcomes artists to a place where they can survive and even thrive. 

Artists Sunday is one way of the efforts to showcase that talent for area residents and draw attention from curious artists who want to learn more about the city's art program. 

Hundreds of people joyfully scuttled from stop to stop even after an exhausting weekend of Black Friday and Small Business Saturday shopping to see what original artists had to offer.

"It was a good start," said Lena Wheeler, one of the artists showing around town. "It takes time to build. It was smart to have the local businesses involved. Anytime we can collaborate between businesses and artists it is a benefit to the town."

Artists Sunday grew out of the pandemic as a means to connect people to galleries and art.  It has become a genuine movement to understand each community and the artists within it.

Oil City's effort has a similar history, growing and changing each year. In 2023, it branched out to include more stops and more artists. According to Barbara Pierce, who organized the event through Arts Oil City and the Main Street Program, it brought unexpected people to downtown Oil City.

Part of the late afternoon draw was local makeup artist Kaleb Lewis, who appeared on the reality show "Face Off." Students from his recent multi-week Hollywood-esque style makeup class showed off their work.

During the class, which was funded in part by a grant from Arts Oil City and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Lewis worked with five students through the process of creating masks and applying the finishing touches to creating a character.

On Artist Sunday, the makeup applications could be viewed, fish bowl style, in a room at the National Transit building. The main event was a presentation in the Great Room once the shopping hours had concluded. And it was packed. Standing room only.

It was quite a showstopper for a successful effort that will likely grow in 2024.

View more of the photos below.