South Side Gallery Owner Strives to Make Customers Feel at Home

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Faie Edwards is the owner of FaiÉ African Art in Bronzeville. Photo by John L. Alexander

CHICAGO–Art gallery owner Faie Edwards said that her business is here to not only offer people quality African Art, but to educate them on the rich history and traditions.
“We sell art because we have to if we want to stay in business, but we’re also interested in education around the culture,” she said.
When you first step into the gallery, books about Africa are neatly spread across a table. There are comfy chairs for customers to lounge in while flipping through their pages.
FaiÉ African Art in Bronzeville, 1005 E. 43rd St., will be celebrating seven years in March and Edwards said she chooses to not relocate because she also wants to be a part of the community’s growth. Also, there are those who might not get a chance to be exposed to African art, but they might walk pass her shop and decide to step in.
Edwards said that some people believe that they can’t afford art because it’s too expensive, which is why she works with them. She accepts all methods of payment, including layaway. And there’s even a holiday sale. Items will be marked down anywhere from 10-40 percent off and for framing, customers can save $30.
The inspiration behind FaiÉ African Art’s creation started after a trip to Africa that happened more than two decades ago.
“I fell in love with the people and the art so I started collecting and the more I collected, the more I wanted to share all levels of art with people,” Edwards said.
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Photo by John L. Alexander

What led her to Africa in the first place was her interest in the culture, which started when she was a child. Growing up in Arkansas, Edwards said her mother’s company would work with African students. Edwards said she was always captivated by the differences and similarities between them. It was then that she decided she would one day visit Africa.
On her first trip she visited Guinea and Mali and instantly fell in love with the art. Since then, she has visited different countries. Her gallery features work from the the Western, Eastern, Central and Southern Regions of Africa.
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Photo by John L. Alexander

Edwards said that she and her employees strive to create a welcoming environment because she knows first hand how it feels to be treated like you don’t belong while at a gallery.
“There were probably about three or four people working at this one gallery I went to and not one person said hello,” she said.
“I could’ve been a multimillionaire, ready to buy the entire gallery, but it shouldn’t really matter.”
Besides making visitors feel comfortable, Edwards believes that three things makes her gallery unique and different from others. She says FaiÉ African Art is the only African art gallery on the South Side, she sells quality work and she is invested in the community because she works in.
Keeping the community engaged with the gallery is important and personal because Edwards actually lives in it. Every month or so, she features an artist by putting up their art and then invites him or her to come in discuss their work. The event is called “Tea With.”
“People get the chance to interact with them closely and that’s really nice,” Edwards said. The next one will happen in February.
She said she doesn’t plan on leaving the community because she’s right where she’s supposed to be.
“I’ve always felt like a place like this needs to be in the community with the direct descendents of the people who created these wonderful art forms,” she said.
Edwards said she will continue to follow her vision, which is to offer quality art that “stands the test of time.”
“We want people to have something that they really want and not just settle for something because it appears to be affordable,” she said. “We want you to have what you want and we work with people to make that happen.”
To learn more about FaiÉ African Art in Bronzeville, visit its website: www.Faieafrikanart.com.

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