Heather Majano is the Art Festival & Arts Initiative Coordinator under the East Lansing Parks, Recreation & Arts department, she is invited to do an interview and introduce the event.

First, can you please introduce yourself and the upcoming art festival?

Yes, I am Heather Majano, I am the coordinator of the East Lansing Art Festival and the next East Lansing Art Festival is happening on May 18 and 19 in downtown East Lansing.

And we have two full days of performances. That includes dance and music and magic. And then we also have the CATA food court. So we’ve got seven food trucks down there with different types of food, Spanish, Mexican, American.

Can you highlight some of the featured artists and their work that will be displayed?

I can talk about different art categories and the number of artists. We have 175 great artists, and if I call each one out individually, it would be quite a long show.

We have 18 categories of art. We have fiber arts, painting, 3D mixed media, 2D mixed media, glass, ceramics, jewelry and more.

We also have a tent for emerging artists who have never displayed at a fine art festival before. It’s a great opportunity to check out the festival and see if they like that kind of scene. We provide the tent and tables and all the setup stuff that they need, so it’s a low entry cost to explore that kind of opportunity for their art.

We’re also grateful for the connection across the street to MSU and the MSU arts and crafts fair.

I heard that it is the 61st anniversary of the art festival, how is it different from the previous one?

This year, we’ve focused more on accessibility than new art exhibits. We’ll have an ASL interpreter at all the performances. There will also be a sensory-friendly space for folks.

I’m really grateful for this collaboration. We’re working with the Capital Area Disability Network to make the festival site more accessible next year.

One of the cool things that they’re going to be able to do is actually talk to the artist to help make the booths more accessible too. That’s something that’s been a dream for a long time. And we’re finally able to make the connection.

Can you tell me more about the booth? Are the artists selling their work in the booth or someone else?

The display artworks aren’t for sale. It’s a permanent mural. But the 175 artists have their own booths to sell their other work.

Can you highlight some features in the artist demo area that seems to be a lot of hands-on activities?

We have great collaborations with local art organizations. The East Lansing Ceramics Club and the Delphi Glass Company will be there.

The Delphi Glass Company is working on a community glass mosaic. You can make a piece of art that will become part of a community collaboration piece.

We have SEAMS too. They’re a fiber arts business in downtown East Lansing. They’re having an Indigo dye where people can bring down any piece of fiber. They’re also going to sew a community quilt. If you go, they’ll give you a quick sewing tutorial and you’ll be able to sew a piece to the quilt.

On Sunday, Woven Art Yarn Shop will be there. There will be weaving and spinning demonstrations. They’ve invited the community to come if you weave, spin, knit or crochet. There’ll be chairs down there and you can just bring your work in progress and join them for the day.

Can they take their work home?

The Indigo dye can be taken home. Once it dries, they can take it home.

The community quilt and glass mosaic will stay with the festival because they’re a collaborative piece.

If you bring your work in progress for weaving or fiber art on Sunday, you get to take it home.

What are the criteria for winning the Artist Award this year?

There are four awards with different criteria. We share this with the artists. The People’s Choice Award is the one the public would be interested in. We have anonymous on-site jurors. They choose winners in each category.

For the People’s Choice Award, they will narrow it down to three artists whose art would fit into the city of East Lansing’s collection. We have quite a collection of art here, so one of my roles is to work with the Arts Commission and Planning Department to curate the city’s art collection and narrow the artist down to three. Then, the community is invited to vote on which of the three artists they think should win. I tally the votes on Sunday morning and award the winner a piece of their art up to $2,500 and the piece is then displayed in the city’s collection in a public building.

If you want to vote, head to the info booth on Sunday afternoon. The jury visits the artist booths on Sunday morning and makes their selection. They’ll have the booth numbers Sunday afternoon, so you can check it out. If you see an artist with a laminated sign, they’re one of the nominees. 

The weather forecast said there will be high humidity on May 18 and 19. If it rains, will the outdoor activities be canceled or will they go on as usual?

Since I’ve planned a few festivals, I know our strategies for different weather. If it’s just rain, the festival goes on. If it’s raining, bring a raincoat or umbrella. The artists and art will be there. The only difference is that we can’t perform if it’s raining with all the electronics on the stage. The stage only performs if it’s dry.

I didn’t see much about how the festival involves college students or the campus. It seems mainly for other art companies and galleries. Are there any comments about the MSU community’s involvement in the art festival?

I have several comments. The MSU RCAH programs are in the artist demo area. Steve Bibeck is the organizer and will be on site. We’re excited to have this new collaboration. 

We also have anonymous jurors to judge the artists and get them on-site. We use different groups of people for this. We often use MSU students and professors.

It may look like there’s not much collaboration, but there is a lot of work done behind the scenes to make the two festivals look seamless.

Not many students are in town because it’s the end of the season. That’s just part of the timing. But having a festival when the students are in town would be a little too early in the season.

It’s the last question. Do you have any messages for the community?

Just come and enjoy the festival. It’s relaxing. It’s safe. You can explore local businesses. Everyone’s open and the festival is going to be great. It’s going to be a great weekend. Looking forward to seeing everyone!