Backyard Art Fair keeps getting bigger in 5th year

FERNDALE/OAK PARK/PLEASANT RIDGE — From its small beginnings during the pandemic, the Backyard Art Fair now is celebrating its fifth year.

The Backyard Art Fair will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 18, at homes located in Ferndale, Oak Park and Pleasant Ridge.

The fair began in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, at only 10 homes. This year, it will feature about 120 artists at 27 homes.

“Every year, I’m just surprised that it’s getting bigger and growing and that people are excited about it,” organizer Kelly Kaatz said. “We never thought that this would be a big thing — we never planned on being organizers to this — but just with the positive response of the community and other makers in the area, we just kind of keep plugging along and doing it. So we’re starting to get a formula for how to organize it, and that’s getting a little bit easier on our end. So we just decided to make it a little bigger this year.”

The styles of artists featured in the fair include everything from illustrators, jewelers and painters to ceramic artists, glass artists and tie-dye art.

If there is rainfall on the day of the event, the rain date will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, May 19.

Mark Sarmel, of Ferndale, will be participating in his first Backyard Art Fair. He will be showcasing his paintings, which he creates both digitally and traditionally.

“I try to do a few craft fairs every year, and this one’s just kind of fun and convenient because it is just in your backyard,” he said.

“My work is very character-driven,” Sarmel continued. “I’m Mexican, so my work kind of centers on sort of representing BIPOC people in these heroic forms. You know, kind of these iconic poses and things like that, but they all tend to be BIPOC people because I want to represent them more so than they’ve been represented in the past.”

Sarmel also will be offering his home as a site for other artists for the fair, which he called a great idea. He likes how casual it is for the artists and buyers.

“I think it’s also a little bit more freeing, because sometimes at some of the other art fairs, it gets really busy and really cramped, but this is kind of a little bit more leisurely for them and probably won’t be as, like, elbow-to-elbow people and things like that. And then the fact that they push you to kind of open up your space to other artists is nice too. So I’m having a couple of other artists with me that are some friends of mine. … It’s kind of a nice way to meet some new people, but also hang out with some friends too.”

For a full list of home locations, visit backyardartfair.com.