TULSA, Okla. — For eight years, Stacy Rice has been selling her handmade, crocheted items along the sidewalk at First Friday Art Crawl in downtown Tulsa.
“I have some health issues and can’t work outside the home and this pays my bills,” said Rice.
She and several other artists now feel their livelihood is in jeopardy. At October’s event, a citizen handed them copies of a recently revised city ordinance and a message.
“We were going to be kicked out and probably given a fine,” said Josh Barbee, another artist and vendor.
At issue: whether some vendors are illegally obstructing the sidewalks.
“We always make sure our tables are in the grass space, not blocking any pedestrians, we are not blocking crosswalks,” said Rice.
2 News Anchor Erin Christy spoke to four concerned artists. They told her that when the art crawl first started, only a handful of non-sanctioned artists set up along the sidewalks. These days, there can be up to 40 vendors, and some have very large tents. Rice believes the tents could be what prompted the complaint to the city.
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However, business owners like Melvin Cornshucker are OK with artists setting up in front of their downtown pottery shop. But lately, he feels like the event looks like a yard sale with people selling used clothes.
“Anything you can sell, you can sell it here and I don’t like that,” he explained.
The art crawl was designed in 2007 to open downtown galleries as well as sell art inside various businesses. Guthrie Green also rents out space to artists for a fee. Cornshucker believes the sidewalk vendors make the event less refined than it used to be.
“Now we are just getting kids,” he said.
“Your average, every day person is not going to come out and buy a $700 oil painting,” said Rice.
Rice said there is a waiting list for a space at Guthrie Green, but even so, it is too expensive for her lower price-point options. She said families tell her they love having affordable options and hopes the city can come up with a viable solution.
2 News spoke to a city spokesperson who said the sidewalk vendors are not being shut down. We also spoke with Tulsa City Councilor Laura Bellis. She is spearheading efforts to find a solution for everyone. She said options include updating the special event permit to include the sidewalk vendors or using parking spaces instead of the sidewalk space. An updated permit could also address what types of items can be sold at the event.
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