For the Love of Art Fair March 5 & 6
by Dan Breen
"My mission is to ignite art in all lives,” says Shireen Cline, creator and director of the For the Love of Art Fair. “The best way to do that is through education. When someone comes to the For the Love of Art Fair, it opens their eyes to art. Art is not just something you put on a wall. Art is something created through hands and the imagination. When someone says, I am not into art, I find a chance to educate on how art is all around us.”
Shireen Cline Cline started the For the Love of Art Fair to deal with seasonal depression. She says it helps her to bridge the winter months. Since she was very young, she found art to bring lifegiving, positive energy into her life.
“My love of art goes back to my childhood,” says Cline. Growing up, her family lived near a junk pit where she would gather discarded treasures. She took the pieces she gathered back to the garage, and, with her father’s tools, she created sculptures.
Cline was staging shows all around Michiana, but she decided to make South Bend the home For the Love of Art Fair because she feels that the city is known for celebrating art and supporting local artists. South Bend also offers a variety of restaurants hotels and other attractions, making it an entertaining and convenient backdrop where the Love of Art Fair can shine one March weekend a year.
Cline travels across the region to find talented local and regional artists to show. This year For the Love of Art Fair will feature 47 artists, fewer than usual, to allow for more space between vendors and more room for visitors to feel comfortable. In previous years, before COVID, the show featured more than 60 artists.
When Cline is selecting artists, she keeps the audience first in mind. She wants to create a special experience for guests of For the Love of Art Fair. “I want people to enjoy their experience and connect with the artists,” says Cline. “We bring two worlds together linking the gallery
and the art fair artist.” Cline looks for three things when selecting an artist For the Love of Art Fair. 1. She wants to see that the art is unique and interesting. 2. She wants to see a professional eye-catching display that pulls her in to the art—by going and seeing artists at other events she can imagine the aesthetic for the entire fair. 3. She also wants the artist to engage with the visitors at the fair.
“I need to feel the artist’s passion for what they create. It is important to me,” she says. “I want people to enjoy their experience and connect with the artist.” People want to take home a story with their art purchase, says Cline. The story behind the art creates a more meaningful experience.