Starving Artists’ Show ends after 53 years

Mount Mary Starving Artists' Show is being sunset after 53 years due, in part, to rising costs of services and increased demands of time and talent from volunteers and staff.

The university has notified the Alumnae Association, which has spearheaded the event since its inception, earlier and made this announcement public today on social media.

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce to our loyal and talented artists, the dedicated volunteers and our many patrons,” said Director of Alumni Relations Moira Flood. “This decision was not made in haste or without careful thought, weighing many factors including rising costs of services, increased demands of time and talent from our loyal volunteers and staff, as well as the boom of online markets for consumers to shop.”

The show has raised thousands of dollars for student scholarships and a variety of projects around campus since its inception. The Alumnae Association has focused primarily on raising money for scholarships with a goal to reach $1 million corpus for the alumnae endowed scholarship fund. With the help of additional alumnae donations, that goal has been surpassed.

The Starving Artists’ Show was created by the Alumnae Association in 1968, and the first show was held in 1969. It was only cancelled twice, once in 2020 because of COVID and again this year due to poor weather.

“The event has been integral in shining a light on the immense talent and dedication of artisans from across the country, welcomed countless community members to the beautiful Mount Mary campus, and most importantly, generated significant donations in support of our amazing students,” said Mount Mary President Isabelle Cherney, Ph.D.