MOSCOW, ID – University of Idaho Art + Design Graduate Students will host the second annual Starving Artist Sale on Saturday, April 12, at the university’s Pitman Center, located at 709 Deakin Ave in Moscow. Hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. The daylong market features original art from 65 student, alumni, and community artists. The event is free, and complimentary parking is located in the Pitman lot, at the Vandal Bookstore lot, and on the street.
The Starving Artist Sale is the inspiration of Jill Kyong, a University of Idaho MFA candidate and founder/president of the Art + Design Graduate Student Group. Kyong and Ava Rummler, this year’s graduating MFA students, are organizing the sale. Their motivation for the event is to provide art students with a firsthand experience in marketing and selling their art.
“Every year, I discover incredible student artwork that I’m thrilled to purchase,” says Kyong. “I love showing art students that their work has value and that they can earn money from their creativity.”
Cash awards are given to best student art and best displays. Three
artists will be awarded the opportunity to sell their work at Moscow Contemporary’s gift shop. Proceeds from the sale are distributed to graduate students to help offset the expenses of mounting their MFA thesis show.
The graphic that brands the annual sale is a ramen cup, the inexpensive instant noodles associated with college life. This year’s ramen cup artist is Olivia Pham, a 2024 UI BFA graduate. Pham’s design is also a nod to the blue and white decorative tableware featured in her native Vietnam.
The success of the Starving Artist Sale is evident in the increased participation. Sixty-five artists were juried this year to sell a wide range of art, including ceramics, printmaking, painting, wood and fiber, stickers, drawing, jewelry, caricatures, and henna.
“I am so grateful for this opportunity,” says Pham, who now lives in Coeur d’Alene and plans to be a fulltime artist. “As young artists starting out, we have the opportunity to learn about selling and to see that people appreciate what we make. It gives us hope that we can become mature artists.”
Kyong and Rummler have their MFA thesis exhibits in March. Kyong is currently represented at Art Spirit Gallery in Coeur d’Alene. In May she has a solo show at the Slip Stitch Studio in Seattle, and will show at the Seattle Art Fair in July.
To learn more about the event, see work samples of featured artists and get MFA Art + Design student updates, follow posts on Instagram @artgradsidaho or on Facebook @StarvingArtistSale. For more information about the grad group or the event, contact Kyong at kyongmcclain@uidaho.edu, or by calling 208-874-9164.