Welcome to 1993!
That was the year Chicago hosted three upscale art trade fairs in the same time period, and now it is happening again.
The major difference: These kinds of expositions — moneymakers intended to attract specialist collectors and corporate curators as well as the general public — have proliferated all over the world, and many dealers who used to come here now opt for fairs in Basel, Switzerland; Miami Beach; and New York.
Three fairs open this weekend, all seeking to “re-invent” the annual spring exposition in Chicago after a run of 25 years.
Two of them–Art Chicago in the Park, in Grant Park (for more than a decade, the show was at Navy Pier), and Chicago Contemporary and Classic (now at Navy Pier)–are moderately sized. The third, Nova Young Art Fair on W. Washington St. (the address for the NOVA Young Art Fair as published has been corrected here and in a subsequent reference in this text), is small and complements rather than competes with the others. In the end, however, galleries will decide which fair is in their best interest.
To help sort things out, we asked the three organizers the same questions. Given that their answers often had as much spin as if they were about weapons of mass destruction, we have edited out all but direct responses to the questions.
Who is your target audience?
Thomas Blackman, Art Chicago in the Park: “I’m still looking to have the best collectors that Chicago is so famous for. I also think it’s an incredible opportunity for the general public and maybe people that are not quite as initiated into the contemporary art market.”
Ilana Vardy, Chicago Contemporary and Classic: “We have targeted a high-end local market and Midwest market. And we’ve done some programming to bring in the cultural community and to bring in the corporate community.”
Michael Workman, Nova Young Art Fair: “We’re looking for people who are interested in how the whole art system functions, as well as the general public, of course. … So, art-educated people who are interested in culture making and in art making.”
What is the role played by an art fair in Chicago today?
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Blackman: “It has the function of making available a lot of art to the general population. It is part of the way communication continues between artists and collectors and [dealers].”
Vardy: “The role of an art fair anywhere is to provide the market with high-enough quality work and important galleries so that the market can purchase the work that they’re interested in and become aware of work with which they’re not familiar.”
Workman: “As of this year, the role played is very much like an alchemical role. It’s sorting out what the city’s role is in the art market between Basel and New York.”
Do you see the role as being different from what it has been?
Blackman: “No. None of the shows is quite as international as they have been in the past, but I don’t think that really changes the role.
Vardy: “Yes, because the climate for art fairs is completely different than it was in 1993. There are many, many more art fairs worldwide.
Workman: “Yeah. Our ambition was to get a small group of for-profit galleries alongside a group of not-for-profit exhibitors–they’re not actually galleries. So it’s maybe a different role than fairs were attempting to play [in the past]. Our role is simply to provide a platform for some smaller galleries that wouldn’t be able to pay the $10,000 to be in the other fairs.”
What is the greatest strength of your show?
Blackman: “There are a lot of excellent galleries in the show that are going to bring some really strong work that spans the range of price and, I think, probably, effectiveness to people.”
Vardy: “Diversity. The whole concept of the show is trying to create something that’s different from what was in the past. We’re definitely more focused on modern work. There’s a lot of contemporary work but there’s also a lot more modern work than in previous years. It’s a bit more conservative than cutting-edge.”
Workman: “Probably its diversity, its pluralistic base. We’re showing work from institutions and organizations and spaces that would not get this kind of billing.”
What might be its greatest weakness?
Blackman: Probably that we do not have a certain group or the scope of exhibitors that we would normally have when we had a show that was 175 to 200 exhibitors.
Vardy: Probably the fact that we have not been able to bring in some of the more well-known galleries that people want to see at the show.
Workman: We are in our first year. We have the disadvantage of unfamiliarity.
How do three art fairs running during the same period–when an antique fair is also at the Merchandise Mart–actually serve the community?
Blackman: “That sort of thing is not unusual in New York. It happens all the time, you know, where there are lots of antique shows opening up on the same weekend. That is not a negative.”
Vardy: “People are very accustomed to going to multiple fairs at the same time. Now they’re using it more as a reason to go to a city. For somebody who doesn’t want to normally travel to Chicago for a show that has only 70 or 80 galleries, now they have an opportunity to do four shows in one weekend. I think they see that as a plus.”
Workman: “What I like about this is that there’s so much more choice. You can pick and choose different things you want to see maybe within each little fair. It maybe offers more of a range of opportunity to suit a lot of different people’s tastes.”
Art Chicago in the Park
When: Noon-8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Monday; noon-6 p.m. Sunday Where: Butler Field in Grant Park, 201 S. Columbus Drive; 312-226-4700
Price: $15; $12 students, seniors, groups of 10 or more; 2-day pass, $25, 3-day pass, $35
Chicago Contemporary & Classic
When: Noon-8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday; noon-6 p.m. Monday
Where: Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave.; 312-447-0430 Price: $15, $10 students, seniors, groups of 10 or more.
Nova Young Art Fair
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When: Noon-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; noon-6 p.m. Sunday Where: 840 and 850 W. Washington St.; 312-421-2227 Price: $5
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