Art Fair 14C Recap

The weekend went by fast. It was busy. It was intense. So what was it like....

I’m still thinking about that. It ended. We packed up and drove home. And how did I feel? Actually: quite amazing. So my experience was rife with expectations as probably was most people’s. There were people I wanted to meet. Art I wanted to see. Conversations I wanted to have. Sales I wanted to make. And of course, my work I wanted to have seen. I wanted to feel as an artist amongst my peers.

I set out to meet the participants and see the work. Everyone was nervous and clearly everyone had their own set of expectations and fears. I wanted to connect with the artists and the gallerists. I knew it would be three days of small talk and sales talk. I wanted to see if we could just get a piece of something more meaningful to ground us in our community. Turns out it was better than I hoped. I met amazing people and we had amazing conversations. We talked about our concerns and then talked about the work. Really talked about the work. I was having studio visits and everyone needed to dig into their work as a break from the parade of lookers. It was fantastic. I’m hoping that some of these connections will build. I think they will...
So what else? Sales. This was rough. Most of us sold a little. Sales were not the big hit this time. Showing with a new group of people. Yeah this was fabulous! Seeing the different work sing together and the room just flow. Amazing.. There were some people who kicked tires a bit harder and maybe they will circle back for a buy. There were some gallery people who said they were very interested. We will see...

As it stands, a day later, I feel for once, planted in my arts community in New Jersey. This is right now the greatest value of the fair. It feels momentous.