{"id":130897,"date":"2026-02-12T03:47:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T03:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/130897\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T03:47:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T03:47:21","slug":"made-in-manhattan-kansas-state-collegian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/130897\/","title":{"rendered":"Made in Manhattan – Kansas State Collegian"},"content":{"rendered":"

The beginning of every month offers new beginnings and opportunities for new habits. Similar to the First Friday event hosted every month in Kansas City\u2019s West Bottoms, Switch Wicked Studios hosts local artists at its First Saturday Art Market. Switch Wicked Studios is a nonprofit art space \u201cdedicated to supporting local artists through education, collaboration and creative opportunities.<\/a>\u201d Starting the month strong, the studio\u2019s goal is to showcase up to 15 new artists.<\/p>\n

Ash Meloan helped found Switch Wicked and now works as one of the owners and the art director. Switch Wicked originated from self-employed artists, allowing for the inspiration of the studio creation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are artist-owned, art-focused and have artist friends whose work is really well suited for an informal, alternative space, so it made perfect sense to us to start hosting markets,\u201d Meloan said. \u201cIt\u2019s also very important to us that we make as many opportunities for local artists to be able to financially support themselves, and this is just one of the ways we can contribute to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second floor of Switch Wicked allows local artists to showcase their work in the shop, empowering them to sell their art.<\/p>\n

\u201cArt markets in general are a huge way for independent artists to make money, with many small artists making almost all of their income on market days,\u201d Meloan said. \u201cOur art market has the additional benefit of being marketed to an audience looking for more unusual or \u2018lowbrow\u2019 art styles like digital art, original fan works and pop art, which is very unique for our area.\u201d<\/p>\n

This monthly market has not only allowed Switch Wicked to grow, but it also allows for more community engagement with art that is Manhattan-made.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Local creative art shop, Switch Wicked, hosts a variety of handmade designs on shirts and various merchandise. (Jake Grayson)<\/p>\n

\u201cLocal response has been amazing, and it\u2019s only getting better now that it\u2019s a repeating event and people know they can come shop every first Saturday,\u201d Meloan said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been thrilled with turnout, and even more excited about the level of support [both financially and socially] we\u2019ve seen for our market artists.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

This past Saturday, live music was added to the market. Meloan and other staff members at Switch Wicked hope that, with live music, the event could grow even bigger by the end of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve recently added a musical performance to our markets, and we\u2019d love to see an increase in \u2018spill-over\u2019 traffic, making our local visual arts scene and music scene more closely involved with each other,\u201d Meloan said. \u201cWe also want to grow our artist roster and continue getting more of an audience interested in participating in or supporting our local arts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The growth of the art market has allowed artists from all over Manhattan to promote their work. One of these artists is Alexa Murray, Kansas State senior in fine arts in visual communication design with a minor in marketing. Murray likes to create many different types of art, including personal projects for her favorite musicians through digital drawings.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrintmaking is my most physical form of art that I do: linoleum blocks, copper etchings and risograph prints,\u201d Murray said. \u201cI\u2019ve found a lot of comfort in those art processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray finds joy in creating her art and wants to spread those same positive feelings to anyone who may view it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe message I always want to share with my art is the fun and joy that creating can bring to anyone\u2019s life,\u201d Murray said. \u201cWhether that is actually making the art, or attending an art event and getting to see and\/or buy others\u2019 art. There is so much joy to be found in creating, and that is always the takeaway that I want people to see in my work: I love what I make.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Murray finds joy in events at Switch Wicked, she involves herself in as many as she can. This past Saturday was her sixth tabling event at the market.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had my Etsy shop since January 2023, but my very first tabling event was at the Sweetheart Mart put on by some of the girlies who are part of the Vintage Flea Market and hosted by Switch Wicked,\u201d Murray said. \u201cEver since then, I have been on the lookout for events to table at. I did Third Thursday all summer, a couple events at Happy Hippie and a new Holiday Market that was put on by the same people as Third Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray believes that events like these are incredibly important for the art community. Her dream is to go full-time with her artwork; however, that can only happen when the community shows up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI love to see others get joy from my art, the same way I do creating it,\u201d Murray said. \u201cAt this most recent event, someone purchased a very funky art piece I never expected to sell, and it made me so giddy that even the funky stuff I envision has a place in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Switch Wicked allows for more than just K-State students to showcase their art. Kim Belanger, head of education and outreach at the Beach Museum of Art, and has been making art for her whole life, though she just recently started considering herself an artist.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe art I\u2019ve been making most recently is cyanotype, an alternative photographic process that uses a light-sensitive solution that turns deep blue in the sunlight,\u201d Belanger said. \u201cI grew up in a place called \u2018The Enchanted Forest\u2019 in Michigan, where my imagination was fueled from playing in the woods and lake. My art is inspired by the natural world, and is made with plants, water, earth and sunshine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Switch Wicked\u2019s event allows like-minded creative people to meet each other and learn more about each other\u2019s work, something Belanger believes is essential.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity-focused events like the Saturday Art Market are incredibly important to artists,\u201d Belanger said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the only platforms we have to share our work other than social media or exhibits, and exhibition space in Manhattan is unfortunately minimal. Sharing our work gives us feedback and validation, or sometimes criticism, but it\u2019s all helpful. It makes us feel supported and valued and motivated to continue making.\u201d<\/p>\n

Events like the Saturday Art Market empower all types of artists. Whether you\u2019re just starting or you\u2019ve been in the industry for a while, you can find your place on the first Saturday of each month. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The beginning of every month offers new beginnings and opportunities for new habits. Similar to the First Friday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130898,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[1149,2091,610,75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":{"0":"post-130897","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manhattan","8":"tag-art","9":"tag-arts-and-culture","10":"tag-local","11":"tag-manhattan","12":"tag-manhattan-headlines","13":"tag-manhattan-news","14":"tag-new-york","15":"tag-new-york-city","16":"tag-nyc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130897"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130897\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}