A head start on buying art

A HEAD START ON BUYING ART

A sampling of art sales and events over the next 12 months. Consult the online resources www.mplsart.com and www.mnartists.org for more.

Today: Art at St. Kate's, a juried art fair featuring 90 local artists, 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. St. Catherine University, Randolph and Cleveland Avs., St. Paul. www.artistscircle.org

July 31: Hot Off the Press, an exhibit and sale of original lithographs, screen prints, etchings and monoprints by members of the Highpoint Center for Printmaking. Many works are priced at $100 or less. Opening reception 6:30-9 p.m. Sale runs through Sept. 19. 912 W. Lake St., Mpls. www.highpointprintmaking.org, 612-871-1326.

Aug. 8-9: Minneapolis Arts Weekend, with Powderhorn Park (180 artists), Loring Park (140 artists) and Uptown (360 artists) presenting art fairs at the same time. Target is providing free bus service among the three sites. Loring and Powderhorn run 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. Uptown runs noon-8:30 p.m. Fri. Aug. 7, 10 a.m.- 8:30 p.m. Sat. and 10 a.m. 6 p.m. Sun. See www.loringparkartfestival.com, www.powder hornartfair.com and www.uptownminneapolis.com.

Aug. 21: Go Live, a party where you can watch artists at work as well as buy art at 526 Gallery, 7-11 p.m. 526 Selby Av., St. Paul, www.526salon.com, 651-222-3839.

Sept. 11-12: The Soap Factory's $99 sale, with works by more than 200 artists all up for grabs for $99. The catch is also part of the fun -- none of the work is signed, so you don't know who made it, just whether or not you like it (which is the whole point). Preview party, $20 fee, 7-10 p.m. Fri. Sale is 9 a.m.- noon Sat. 518 SE. 2nd St., Mpls. 612-623-9176, www.soapfactory.org

Late September: Rosalux, an artists' collective, will sell prints donated by current members and alumni for $25-$60. Open Book Building, 1011 Washington Av. S., Mpls. www.rosaluxgallery.com, 612-747-3942.

Oct. 9-11: St. Paul Art Crawl, a biannual, weekend-long event featuring more than two dozen locations in St. Paul, mostly in Lowertown, and free bus transport among them. 6-10 p.m. Fri., noon-8 p.m. Sat., noon-5 p.m. Sun. www.artcrawl.org, 651-292-4373.

Nov. 20-21: MCAD sale of student work. Go early. The Minneapolis College of Art and Design's annual sale is always packed with bargain hunters. The student artists get most of the proceeds. 6-9 p.m. Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 2501 Stevens Av. S., Mpls. www.mcad.edu.

Jan. 23: Get Lucky, Soo Visual Arts Center's silent auction, will include work by Andrea Carlson, Amy Rice, John Largaespada and several other locals. 7-11 p.m., 2642 Lyndale Av. S., Mpls. www.soovac.org, 612- 871-2263.

April 17: Marcy Open School fundraiser, with donated works for silent and live auctions, food and drink, and music. Insiders flock to this sale because contributors include many accomplished local artists. Proceeds go to arts programming at the school. $35 in advance, $40 at the door. 6-11 p.m., The Soap Factory, 518 SE. 2nd St., Mpls. www.soapfactory.org

April 23-25: St. Paul Art Crawl (see above).

May 14-16: Art-a-Whirl, a weekend-long open studio and gallery tour with more than 600 participating artists, plus music, in northeast Minneapolis. 612-788-1679, www.nemaa.org

June 5-6: Red Hot Art Festival, a grass-roots showcase for emerging artists. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.- 5 p.m. Sun. Stevens Square Park, between 18th-19th Sts. and Stevens and 2nd Avs. S., just south of downtown Minneapolis. www.redhotart.org, 612-879-0200.