BELLEVILLE, Ill. — Since 2002, Art on the Square has drawn artists from across the country to the Metro East, but recently there's been concern that the annual event could be canceled.
Over the past 22 years, the organization has added a board of directors and over 300 volunteers.
“It’s a total volunteer event,” former Art on the Square board member Tom Barnett said.
However, as co-directors Cathy Bartle and Stephanie Dorris prepare to step-down at the end of the year Art on the Square struggled to find a replacement due to what they called in a statement they believe “politics” caused a potential successor to withdraw in late August.
“When I read that note that they were considering not having it I stepped in and did something,” Barnett said.
Barnett was among a group of volunteers who proposed partnering with Southwestern Illinois College on a new art festival.
“I didn’t want it to die because if you skip a year you’re going to lose the artist,” Barnett said.
However, Friday afternoon Art on the Square announced that will no longer be necessary after two people volunteered to co-chair the show moving forward.
“It was really a positive situation for us,” Barnett said. “We don’t want something like that to go away because it’s so important to the community.”
At this time Art on the Square isn't announcing the identities of the two individuals who stepped forward to lead the event.
They said in a statement that there will be a formal announcement after they are approved by the Board of Directors.