Carving out physical spaces in our Region for small, local makers to grow their reach is crucial to fostering community and recovery after the last two years. As the Richmond Night Market prepares to open for its fourth season tomorrow, co-founders Melody Short & Adrienne Cole Johnson have only expanded its unique offerings and experiences.

Read ahead for Melody & Adrienne’s words:

CultureWorks: Who are you and what is your relationship to The Night Market?

Melody: Melody Short, Co-Founder, The Richmond Night Market
Adrienne: Adrienne Cole Johnson, Co-Founder, The Richmond Night Market

CW: Tell me a bit about The Night Market! What is it and how did it get started?

M & A: The Richmond Night Market is the premier Night Market experience for the City of Richmond, featuring 40+ vendors in the Artisan Village, Live Music, and a DJ on the Mainstage, as well as live art in the Makerspace.

Ten years ago, we founded the ARTisan Cafe, a quarterly celebration of art, music, culture, and commerce upon our return to our hometown. We were noticing the lack of diversity in the local arts scene, as well as a void in spaces where Black people felt comfortable exploring art in its many forms. We both had been afforded the opportunity to live in various cities across the country, including Brooklyn, DC, St. Louis, Baltimore, and Dallas, and were so enamored by the local art scenes in each city that we yearned for a comparable experience in Richmond. As a result, we curated pop-up art experiences in local galleries, the opening of an artist co-op in Stony Point Mall, and later the creation of the Richmond Night Market.

 CW: What features of The Night Market’s 4th season are you most excited about?

 M & A: We are most excited about the opportunity to expand the market from the market square to also now occupy one block of Franklin Street. The addition of our Creative Experience offering will allow attendees the opportunity to tap into their own creativity energy onsite. We are also looking forward to our incredible lineup of artists and musicians that will be featured, and the opportunity to continue to provide makers and small business owners a platform of commerce to support their growth and development.

CW: How have you felt this space connect with the community around you? 

M & A: The Richmond Night Market has provided a space for community, commerce, and culture for the City of Richmond. We’ve been able to connect with the community through our efforts of creating visibility for businesses in the neighborhood, creating a space for locals and tourists to connect and celebrate the creativity and vibrancy of the city, and inspiring us all with the possibilities of the continued growth and development of Richmond, particularly in the space of arts and culture.

 CW: A moment that made you feel like all the hard work of organizing this project is worth it?

M & A: There have been a few moments for us. Our receipt of messages from participating small business owners sharing with us how successful they were as vendors really confirms the importance of the space we have created, particularly for the creative community to really use the platform as a viable revenue stream for their family. Other moments have been the City of Richmond, the Mayor’s Office, and the Office of Economic Development requesting us to produce our Holiday Villages to support our small business and artisan community for the holiday season and being selected as the Attraction Partner of the Year by Richmond Region Tourism.

CW: Where do you look for inspiration these days, and how do you stay inspired?

M & A: We look for inspiration in the work of our local community of artists, our incredible team, the small business community, and through our travels outside of our region.

The Richmond Night Market opens Saturday, April 9th from 5-9pm, and will be held every 2nd Saturday of the month through December, 2022.

To learn more about The Richmond Night Market visit: https://www.richmondnightmarketva.com/
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