On Saturday afternoon, the graffiti-covered walls of the rooftop between music venue Local 506 and bar Beer Study hosted tents of art vendors and customers for the Attic 506 Rooftop Market.
Attic 506 is a second-floor working art studio above Local 506 that fosters a space for resident artists to work. Chris Musina, the market's organizer and an artist-in-residence at the studio, said he wanted to host an event that represents a diverse group of people and was welcoming to marginalized communities.
He said the close, in-person contact of attendees and artists at the market made it feel like a collaborative, community-based experience.
“I mean, it’s such a part of the human experience,” he said.
Musina found vendors through a variety of ways. Whether it be contacting artists he knew personally, reaching out to connections from his T-shirt business, “No Masters" or putting out an open call for vendors on Instagram, around 15 artists came together to share their work.
Attendee and recent UNC graduate Robin Gao said it was nice to see different modes of creative expression showcased by the vendors.
Chapel Hill-based artist Katie Ozturk, who set up a booth on Saturday, recontextualizes objects for her business, “Upsnerch.” Her creative process involves disassembling an object if it doesn’t speak to her or she can’t use it as originally intended.
“I want to show people that it’s easy to get materials into a place of reuse with just a little bit of networking and a little bit of creativity,” Ozturk said.
She primarily makes furniture such as lamps and tables from materials she finds in places like estate sales, Facebook Marketplace and thrift stores. She mainly works with wood and other natural materials to avoid plastic and synthetic polymers.
