Pop-up shop helps struggling artists in Speedway

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (WISH) — Nearly as fast as cars race around the track, art is flying off the shelves in Speedway. Business is booming thanks to race fans, and the added foot traffic is even helping local artists.

The Speedway Arts Council set up a pop-up shop for local artists to showcase their work. President Katie Maiers said the shop has been the council’s most successful event in history.

“This has been really big for our local artists; it’s really moved the dial for them because their art is selling. We keep having to have the artists come back with more inventory,” said Maiers.

The art is on display in the Wilcox Environmental Engineering building, a space right on the corner of Main Street. Maiers said it’s a sign that life is getting back to normal.

“The community is absolutely just so happy that this is going on in this space. This space has been something that people have wanted to access but with the pandemic; there was nothing that Wilcox Environmental Engineering could really do with the café,” said Maiers.

Arts Council Vice President Bruce Levy said after a year of canceled events, artists need all the help they can get.

“We’ve had so many people come in and thank us for doing this shop and wanting us to do more events like this,” said Levy.

Levy said to stay tuned. The checkered flag next weekend may mark the end of the race, but Levy said it will be the beginning of an exciting year for the Speedway Arts Council.

“We’re just now getting rolling and we want to harness that momentum and go forward with more events,” said Levy.

The pop-up shop picks back up on Friday and runs every day through Memorial Day weekend.