PHOTOS: ART 321 Holiday Art Market Highlights Local Artists

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care. So, too, were the paintings, the snowflakes, the photos, and so much more. ART 321's Holiday Art Market took place on Saturday and the general public turned out in droves to get some of their Christmas shopping done early.

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"The Holiday Art Market is just one of those ways that we can really focus on bringing artists into one central space and highlighting the work that they do," said Tyler Cessor, Executive Director of ART 321. "We don't take any commission. They pay a small, flexible booth fee and keep one hundred percent of the earnings."

The Holiday Art Market is just one of the ways ART 321 is trying to  empower artists, giving them a space to not only create, but to actually make a living via their art.

"This is just a great way for us to bring in artists that maybe can't afford a physical brick and mortar business space," Cessor stated.

The market featured numerous artist vendors, selling a variety of mediums. There were paintings and portraits, photography books, pottery, sculptures, food stuffs, metal works, and so much more.

There were holiday art activities for children, as well as a hot cocoa bar. For the adults, hot and cold seasonal beverages were provided by Backwards Distillery. Chad Lore, in all his glory, was on-hand playing the eclectic set he is known for. Opera Wyoming performed as well. But the real star of the show, besides the artists  of course, was the Man in Red himself. Santa Claus made an appearance to take photos with kiddos and hear all about what they wanted for Christmas.

But for the grownups, there was a veritable treasure trove of holiday shopping opportunities at ART 321.

"If you have holiday shopping left to do and you want something unique that no one else has picked up at another mass market store, this is one of the places that you can do that," Cessor said. "And if you don't come here, there are still so many different kinds of places in town. There's Glow, there's Birds Nest Studios, there's Scarlow's, you could go to Red Peak Gallery inside of First Interstate Bank. There's all these spaces that are really focusing on local artists and Wyoming artists."

For those who missed it the first time, the Holiday Market is happening again on Saturday, December 11. For more information, visit the ART 321 Facebook page.