The City of Page held its second annual Fine Art festival on April 15, 2023. This year there were more artists and more locals and visitors admiring the artwork. While locals and visitors browsed some fifty booths of a variety of high-quality art, live music played in the background, including native American and classic rock. Food vendors kept the spectators fed.
Live performances provided background music for the event. Photos by Phil Clark.
Page High School artists show off their work.
Daniel Josley, the featured artist for the Festival, talks to a visitor about his work.
Cordell Naseyoma displays his hand carved Hopi kachinas, painted with natural pigments.
Lukas Josley, shows off his favorite piece of his art.
Instead of having to rush off and file income taxes, people could see some great art, listen to music and enjoy a warm day in John C. Page Memorial Park. The festival was by application only to the City of Page and artists were asked to submit apply before March 15. According to the City of Page website, the application and examples of the artist’s work were evaluated by a jury of local artists, not affiliated with the show.
On April 14, there was a Pre-Show Opening Event at the Wahweap Lodge and according to several artists, it was a “standing room” event. Artists received ribbons for their work in various categories including adult and youth.
The featured artist was Daniel Josley, from Shonto, Arizona, and is a mural artist and painter. He has painted four murals in the Page area and many more in northern Arizona and southern Utah. He also paints canvases and sells prints of his work. He showed his art in a large tent at the event. His work represents his Navajo roots and often shows a horned toad image, representing his grandfather. Lukas, Daniel’s son, is learning to paint from his father and showed some of his work with his dad.
The dancers of Red Heritage performed Pow Wow dances for the public, including an “All Nations” dance where the audience was encouraged to join them as a line of dancers wove through the audience. Other music included Reality Check, and other life music, adding to the festivities.
Around 50 artists in a variety of media were represented – including painting, jewelry, stained glass, fabric, string, wood, wood-cut prints and photography. Page Public Schools’ art students presented their work from students in ninth - 12th grades. One of the student artists received a first-place ribbon for the youth division. Page Public Library offered a chance to the public to help paint a large “paint by numbers” image of Horseshoe Bend. A small donation allowed participants to have their chance to work on a painting. The Page Public Library also sponsors art contests in the public schools, with entries displayed at the event.
The City of Page should be applauded for this event. Many people commented how much fun it was, and the high quality of the art displayed. For more information about the event, and future events, visit events.cityofpage.org.
