41st Peter Anderson Arts and Crafts Festival in Ocean Springs
It’s been billed as the largest fine arts festival in the state and all the action took place in downtown Ocean Springs this weekend.
Everything is art at the Peter Anderson Festival. Now in its 41st year, the festival has become an economic driver for the City of Ocean Springs, bringing in tourists and over 450 artists from across the Gulf Coast and the country with a shared passion for art.
Tens of thousands have descended on downtown Ocean Springs to look at unique artwork, but also to learn the unique stories behind the art. Richard Lorenz of Louisiana is one of those artists with a story. He now creates his vibrant and unique paintings digitally with an iPad after becoming sensitive to certain types of paints. “When we’re finished, I say we because the wife and I do this together, Tina. We print them, we have our own printers. We print them on canvas. We stretch them. We do it all.”
Lorenz gets inspiration for his art by watching people go by and imagining them as birds. His message of ‘be the bird’ encourages people to be their unique selves. “It’s okay to be you. There’s only one bird like you.”
A new partner to the festival this year was Galleria BMW. With a display of unique vehicles on hand and local artists creating artwork on BMW hoods, they aimed to show that even vehicles are art. Galleria BMW General Sales Manager Leslie Williams said, “BMW is art and you can customize absolutely anything. Paint color, equipment, anything that you want. Everything is customizable.”
Beyond the art, the sense of community the festival offers is so important. Galleria BMW Business Development Manager Amy Lancaster said, “Everyone’s here and we’re just here to meet everyone and kind of come together, I think, holistically to discover the art of engineering.”
For artist Anita Hughes, the Peter Anderson Festival has allowed her to connect with so many people. “I get to see all the people from the years that I’ve met here and we’re like old friends.”
No matter the type of art on display from pottery to paintings to jewelry, artists hope the art at the festival inspires people. “Art is a language. It’s a way to speak to people. Our art is going to communicate in different ways to the viewer. It’s absolutely endless what art is going to say to someone as they see the art.”
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