SouthPointe Pavilions hosts annual Lincoln Arts Festival

Saturday was the start of the 18th annual Lincoln Arts Festival.

The two-day festival is held at SouthPointe Pavilions each year, and it features everything from photography to glass art and even jewelry.

“Lincoln really has a vibrant art community and this is just one of the ways that we are able to show that and so I think it really means a lot especially to the artists in Lincoln when the community comes out to support them,” said Troy Ghener, Development Director with the Lincoln Arts Council.

The event saw more than 100 artists from dozens of states participate. A few came from as far away as Florida.

The Lincoln Arts Council is doing something new to get local artists a chance to get their foot in the door.

“We have a tent here called the emerging artists booth and we give that opportunity to a new artist, they can come in and show for free to really get their feet wet and get a chance to see if this is something that they want to pursue,” said Ghener.

Corey Rourke is this years emerging artist. He spent a few weeks in Cuba and wanted to give people a new perspective on life there.

“Two years ago I was in Cuba, and this is just kind of a display, I wanted to get out and show people what I had, a different perspective, as opposed to looking at Google images online. You can really kind of see the raw feel of Cuba,” said Rourke.

Rourke says having the opportunity to showcase his work in front of hundreds of people is invaluable. He hopes his photography gets noticed and his career takes off.

“People can walk up, people can touch and look at it, it’s a little bit different than just going online and searching through. You can actually come and talk with the artists, a lot of people come up and ask questions,” said Rourke.

The event continues tomorrow from 10pm to 5pm. There is also a yoga session tomorrow morning from 8:30pm to 9:30pm before the festival begins.