Artist Alleys are a popular part of any established anime convention and provide a venue for amateur and professional artisans alike to sell their anime or manga-themed works. Alleys are usually held approximately every three to six months and usually occur in honor of Valentine’s Day, spring, summer, Halloween and Christmas.
The free Dallas-Fort Worth-based Minna Art Market allows others to attend an Artist Alley-type event without paying the hefty price of tickets that anime conventions usually have.
“We pick various art forms from digital art, traditional art, printmaking, nail art, jewelry, accessories, plushies, crochet, apparel, candles and soaps, ceramics, etc.,” said Stephanie Son, Carrollton resident and founder of Minna Art Market, in an email to the North Texas Daily. “Most of our artists have an anime influence to their works, and attendees are drawn to everyone’s unique creative input.”
The next Minna Art Market event is on May 11 at the Denton Civic Center.
The first Minna Art Market event was in August 2021. Son said the inspiration behind starting the market laid in the desire to generate a space to allow artists to make ends meet amidst the COVID-19 pandemic while adhering to the COVID-mandated requirements. Minna events were outside of Denton in the past. However, they continued to thrive and expand, and the Civic Center accommodated their size, leading to the utilization of the current space.
“Individual vendors will bring their own merch and stuff like that [at conventions], and that’s always been my favorite part because I always love seeing how different artists interpret certain media [and how they] show off their own original art,” said Steph Williams, a Dallas resident and customer of Minna Art Market. “You don’t even have to buy a badge like you would at a convention. It’s just a chance to connect with other artists too.”
Williams began attending Minna Art Market events in 2022, the first one being in May of that year in Lewisville. They have been in the DFW anime and convention scene for ten years and value how smaller artists can participate in the market since it is a small event. They said because Minna is on a smaller scale, it fosters a more cozy and intimate community atmosphere.
“I feel like Denton is an area that really values art, like the arts in general, and I’m thinking about UNT and how I know that their music program is really good and that’s something they’re known for,” Williams said. “You can definitely tell the people in the area are very appreciative of art in all its forms, and Minna is a great showcase for that.”
Minna means “all of you” or “everyone” in Japanese. Son chose the name desiring cooperation and customer and vendor assistance. The intentions behind Minna are to help foster support for the artists and expose people who attend the events to new artists. Son is impacted by how she gets to connect to artists she had not known of, and in addition, there is an impact by artists telling her about their experiences with selling at the market.
“I wanted to participate in the market because I have always heard about it, and I think it’s a really good community,” MOLDYWORLD owner Josey Contreras said. “I’m very excited to participate.”
Contreras will sell their creations through the market for the first time in May. They make crocheted items through their small business, MOLDYWORLD. They said they heard a great deal about the market previously, but will be experiencing it in full for the first time in May.
“The best thing about Minna is when the artists and attendees leave happy! I’m overjoyed to hear people express their gratitude towards me about their positive experience at Minna.” Son said in the email. “I love being able to help facilitate an artist community for the DFW area.”
Son said she is shocked to witness just how much Minna has grown, and that word of the marketing spreads even outside the local DFW areas. Artists and attendees travel from out of the state to attend the market.
“I think it’s really impressive what she’s done with this event. I know it’s not easy to start stuff like this, especially on the scale that it’s grown to, because I know that they’ve had to outgrow two different spaces before the current one that they’re in,” Williams said. “Steph herself is really sweet. She’s one of the kindest artists I’ve ever met at conventions and stuff like that.”
