BELLEVILLE, Ill. – One of the allures or charms of this art on the Square in Belleville is that it’s held outdoors. 

One of the frustrations they also have to deal with sometimes is mother nature.

“We’ve got the weights and the entire booth  completely enclosed,” said Evelyn McNally, an artist from the East Coast. “We haven’t run into any tornadoes at all.”

They were battening down the hatches in Belleville earlier this afternoon.  It is the return here for art on the Square in downtown for the 23rd year in downtown. 

Dealing with Mother Nature is something the new co-directors have been watching intently along with Belleville police. 

 “We have 108 artist here and they come from all over the country far away like California up to you know, the Dakotas down to Florida so it’s pretty much that we have 29 state representatives for 50, which is awesome,” said Rebecca Boyer, co-director of Art on the Square. 

More than 100 artists from across the country are here. 

“When the storm came through High, the wind knocked over three tents,” Clark said. “No one was injured and no artwork was destroyed.” 

People took shelter in the former bank building, now known as the MMR building, on the Square. 

On Saturday, all of the artists will vote for their favorite student pieces and they will be awarded Saturday evening.