IX Art Park: The epicenter of art in Charlottesville

Rachel Fenner / V Mag at UVA

Every Saturday morning, IX Art Park fills bright and early with a diverse group of local vendors. Offering items from handcrafted pottery to ink drawings to beaded jewelry, this unique farmer’s market brings together Charlottesville’s artistic community and celebrates creativity.  

The weekly farmer’s market is just one of the many different activities hosted at IX Art Park. The nonprofit arts organization also connects the Charlottesville community through summer camps for elementary school kids, a Sunset Art’s Market every Thursday from May to October and an urban renaissance fair. In its ten years since opening, IX Art Park has changed the way many artists make their living despite their recent financial strain.

Diversity is one of the founding traits that IX Art Park was built upon. IX Art Park was originally a silk mill founded by Frank IX and Sons in 1928. It was the largest of his six silk mills that ran from New Jersey to Virginia. In 2014, Brian Wimer, Ludwig Kuttner and Susan Kirschel sought to revitalize the old steel mill and turn it into a space for artists to come together. 

Rachel Fenner / V Mag at UVA

President and Founder, Susan Kirschel, sat down with V Magazine at UVA to talk about the way IX Art Park has changed the lives of many artists.

“I get so many people that come up to us and say what an impact IX Art Park has had on them,” Kirschel said. “[Many immigrants] said that it was the first time since coming to the United States that they really had a place like home to them.” 

According to the organization’s latest statistics, more than 47 percent of the vendors at the Farmer’s Market are immigrants or Black indigenous people of color. The organization also offers Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits during the market to support families seeking healthy options.

“One of the ideas behind the IX Art Park was to have a space where everyone could come here and feel comfortable,” Kirschel said. “Just trying to let people be themselves and appeal to whomever wanted to come down and sort of be creative and be inspired by the environment.”

IX Art Park upholds this idea by hosting events such as the Black Business Expo and Soul of Cville, which spotlight Black owned small business and culture in Charlottesville. The park also hosted this year’s annual Charlottesville Pride Festival, bringing together vendors who have historically supported the LGBTQ+ community. 

Rachel Fenner / V Mag at UVA

Another one of IX Art Park’s biggest draws is The Looking Glass. What was once an old warehouse is now the only permanent immersive art experience in Virginia. Built by 25 different local Charlottesville artists, the enchanted forest was opened in 2019. The Looking Glass also hosts “Arts from Underground” every Thursday, a space for adults to come make art with snacks, and drinks, and karaoke. 

IX Art Park aims to reflect the vibrant community of artists living in and around Charlottesville, specifically through the weekly farmer’s market.

Anita Whitney of the Silver Grouper has been coming to the market for around four years and calls the park “a totally artistic atmosphere.”

“There's a lot going on for the artists and [Charlottesville] really [has] a consciousness of the importance of art for the community,” Whitney said. 

George and Deborah Seller of FBCandles have also been selling at the market for many years. 

“There's a wide variety of artists and [the market] is thriving,” George Seller said. 

As a newer member of the Charlottesville community, Blake Bottoms of ArtByBlossoms, said she is glad the artistic group exists.

“I didn't even realize there were so many galleries around and IX has just seemed to be a epicenter of that,” Bottoms said. “Whether it's because of the installations or the farmers market or all the different festivals that happen here… it just seems to be the core of that community”. 

An even newer artist to IX Art Park, Micheal Heath Pecorino, who provides caricatures at the Market, said he has been touched by IX Art Park’s work to support local artists.

“It’s a hard life … but people in Charlottesville are as responsive as possible,” Pecorino said. 

However, not everything has been perfect for the park. The Looking Glass was a very big expense for the park, especially since it opened six weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Kirschel said IX Art Park was forced to shut the experience on and off over the two years of pandemic.

Now, the park has had to take a step back and assess how they plan on moving forward due to these budget restraints. IX Art Park is planning on downscaling some of their events and the five full-time employees are no longer being paid. The farmer’s market, Looking Glass and contracted events will not be affected by these changes.

“We were trying to be everything to everybody, and maybe that was too much to take on,” Kirschel said. “We’re gonna try and slow it down a little bit [and] focus ourselves on becoming more sustainable.”

Kirschel hopes that in the future IX Art Park can continue doing what it does best — bringing excitement to the community, hosting a space for artists to do creative and interesting things and making people smile. 

“Clearly we have to figure out a financial model that makes more sense than what we were doing before; but I think sometimes when you rest yourself and look at the forest and not the trees, you can have a much more positive impact.”

IX Art Park accepts donations through its website. Attendees may also register to volunteer at future events.