Street Art Fair returning to Birmingham

As the leaves begin to turn crimson and gold, it’s time to enjoy the Common Ground Birmingham Street Art Fair, returning to Shain Park in downtown Birmingham Saturday, September 14 and Sunday, September 15.

Common Ground's Annual Street Art Fair will celebrate its 45th year in its original home, Shain Park, after several years on S. Old Woodward in downtown Birmingham. The popular art fair has been a destination for art lovers and fairgoers for decades.

More than 80,000 people are expected to attend the weekend event, which will feature 150 juried artists representing a diverse array of art mediums, including ceramics, painting, knitwear, woodworking, photography, glass, jewelry, sculpture, drawing, printmaking and more. The artists set up booths along beautiful Shain Park. Fairgoers are invited to shop in downtown Birmingham as well.

In addition, attendees will find a silent auction tent filled with artwork which will directly benefit Common Ground. There will also be a free, hands-on children's art activities where kids can have the chance to create their own art to take home.

The art fair is a major fundraiser for Common Ground, an Oakland County non-profit agency which provides emergency help for families and individuals in crisis, runaway teens, homeless youth, victims of violence and persons with mental illness. Common Ground offers several crisis management options such as mental health and anxiety services, substance abuse disorder programs, a 24/7 resource and crisis hotline, a text and chat crisis hotline and programs for runaway homeless youth. The center served more than 82,000 people through all of its services last year. September is National Suicide Prevention Month.

The art fair is put on by The Guild of Artists & Artisans, a non-profit, membership association of independent artists, best known for its award-winning Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair.

Visitors are encouraged to park in any of the city's five municipal parking structures, where on Saturday, the first two hours of parking is free. On Sunday, parking is free all day.