Three outstanding artists will serve as the jurors for Mt. Lebanon’s second annual Artists’ Market, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, September 26 and 27, in the Academy parking lot Uptown. They will select the artists who will participate in the show, and also will choose the festival’s winning work.

Festival organizer Steve Denenberg of Create-a-Frame/Handworks on Washington Road has tapped Mark Bender, Melissa Fabian and Adam Kenney as this year’s jurors.

Bender, a Mt. Lebanon resident, is an illustrator whose work has been used for marketing, packaging, books, murals, posters and magazines. He has been recognized by Communication Arts Magazine, 3X3 Magazine, Archive 200 Best Illustrators, Creative Quarterly and the New York Society of Illustrators, of which he is a member. He also is a member of the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators and has won gold and silver Addy awards. Bender has been a faculty member for more than 10 years at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, where he received the 2008 Inez C. Hall outstanding faculty member of the year award.

Fabian, of Bridgeville, owns and is the lead designer at Wild Rose Landscape Design, a firm that has provided chemical-free landscaping for the last 11 years.

She teaches a botanical illustration class for Phipps Conservatory. She earned a bachelor’s degree in art education from Edinboro University and a master’s in education from Duquesne University. She has taught art for 35 years. Fabian volunteers at Our Clubhouse, Smallman Street, teaching art “repurposing” workshops.

Dormont resident Adam Kenney is the marketing and communications director for Bridgeway Capital and was previously executive director of Touchstone Center for Crafts in Farmington, Pennsylvania. Kenney earned a master’s degree in arts management from Carnegie Mellon University in 2009 after spending more than a decade as a professional glassblower. He has managed high-volume glass production studios and participated in residencies in university fine arts programs. He also assisted internationally known glass artists Stephen Rolfe Powell and Curtiss Brock. In addition to producing hollowware, he is collaborating with wood and metalworker Brian Ferrell on a line of mixed media home décor and lighting.

The family friendly Artists’ Market, which will showcase art in various media and also include music and food from places such as Pgh Crepes, Pittsburgh Taco Truck,  Pitaland and Arancini House, is free and open to the public. Watch for more information in next month’s issue on what many expect to become Mt. Lebanon’s “signature” event.