Anyone can be an artist. Art is one of the few things in life that anyone is able to do, as art is what you want it to be. There is no real test to say what is and is not “real art,” but one thing is for certain: you don’t need to be an art student to share and sell your art within the Marquette community.

On Thursday, April 10, at the Ore Dock Brewery, the Student Art Gallery hosted a pop-up art sale from 5-8 p.m.

Art and the ability to sell your own work should be accessible to everyone, especially those who are exploring different mediums and what their artwork means to them. One goal of the organization is to bring that accessibility to Northern students—it costs only one dollar to reserve a booth at the pop-up.

“It is an opportunity for students who are not just specifically art students or art majors,” said Caleb Sobolewski, assistant art director. “It’s open to any students at NMU if they have a small business or if they create their own artwork. It’s an opportunity for them to gain experience selling that work.”

The range of content from booth to booth—from garden starter kits to prints made by graphic design students—embodied the importance of holding accessible market opportunities for students. A few booths were even run by business majors who could receive class credit for starting a business and creating a product, then selling and promoting it.

“One of the things that the Student Art Gallery excelled at is giving students important experience for their careers,” Sobolewski said.

Community members and supporting students filled the second floor of the Ore Dock, browsing the merchants’ unique products to pick up a new piece of art for themselves or a gift for a loved one. The liveliness of the venue added great energy to the event for both those in front of and behind each table.

“We saw a posting for the pop-up shop through the art department, and we wanted to take advantage of that and jump on the opportunity … we gain business and experience, and we get to get our name out there,” said Erin O’Keefe, a participating entrepreneurship student.

This was the last pop-up shop for the academic year, but the Student Art Gallery plans to continue to host a pop-up twice a semester come next year. The organization is also hosting the 303 Art Show, celebrating a semester of AD 303 art students, on April 16 from 7–8 p.m.