The Other Art Fair

Since I have been exhibiting my artwork for ten years now, I thought it was time I participate in a large scale international art fair. For years I've attended EXPO and SOFA at Navy Pier, on the outside looking in, wishing that I could be one of the featured artists. I applied for two grants to pay for this show at the same time that I applied to be in it. The grants rejected me but the show accepted me. I think I felt a sense of urgency about taking a chance on it anyway because my aunt's sudden passing made me think about the things I hope to achieve in my lifetime. I don't want to wait to be "discovered" by someone. I'm trying to put myself in situations where I am more likely to encounter people who would want to buy my art or can otherwise help further my career. My goal isn't necessarily fame, but for the right people to know my name.

The show was a Mana Contemporary on Cermak. Though the building is gritty and industrial on the outside, it has been transformed into a sleek art space on the inside. I was very pleased with the way the show looked.

 

I made two new paintings for the show, Emerald Splendor and Violet Verve.

I brought a comfortable chair that goes with my artwork. I also brought one copy of each of my art books.

I really appreciated the fact that The Other Art Fair partnered with Little Black Pearl. And it was also good that there were receptions on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.

The youngest VIP to visit my booth during the VIP reception Friday was my niece.

I think she liked the colors of my business cards.

There were 120 artists in the fair. The work ran the gamut from installation art to painting to sculpture to multimedia experiences. Here are some of my favorites.

A site-specific installation by Jane Georges

Wendi Turchan

Victoria Fuller

Zach Mory

Patti Brady

Mychaelyn Michalec

Ella Lima

Yvette Kaiser Smith

Britni Mara

Emma Repp

v

Steven Chayt

Liz Mares

Matthew Adamczyk

Sri Prabha

Michael Pfleghaar

Alvaro Galindo

Jim Ford

So much beautiful work, as you can see. It was a shame that more people didn't come to see it. I didn't sell anything.

red dots I never got to use; a blank sales docket

The issue may have been the location. As I have written before, Chicago is a very segregated city. There are many in this city who will not venture south of McCormick Place. What lies west of Chinatown are parts unknown to them. With Mana being as far south as McCormick Place and across the river from Chinatown, the journey to The Other Art Fair was likely too daunting for some people to take. A shuttle bus or trolley service would have made a huge difference. So would having the show closer to Navy Pier to get the most out of the EXPO traffic.

I won't lie about how I felt by Saturday night. I was profoundly disappointed. People who said they were coming back never returned. I felt like it might be too late for me to sell anything. I had fleeting despondent thoughts of dumping all my paintings into the Chicago River, which of course would defeat the purpose of trying to have an eco-friendly, zero-waste art process. So then I thought it might help if Allen Vandever were there to threaten to chop my art up with an axe again. But I remember how that went. I have a lightbox sign at my studio that currently says "BUY MY ART" on it and I had thought about bringing it. Though I'm sure it wouldn't have made a difference either. I was glad that an artist friend called me during the show and talked me out of my gloomy mindset. I had begun to wonder if my work just isn't good enough and was going back over all the hard times I had as a sales associate and thinking of all the things my old jobs had taught me and worrying that I hadn't been a good salesperson of my work. I started thinking of all the places I didn't advertise the show, and wondered if posting about it on this blog that nobody even really reads anymore would have made a difference. (But I advertised on all my social media, even LinkedIn, for goodness sake!) Then I heard other artists also saying that their work wasn't selling, either. So at least it wasn't just me. Though it was nice hearing people say they love my art, it is hard to believe that if they don't actually buy it. It's kind of like when someone says they love you but not enough to marry you.

But these are the things that happen when you do something for the first time. You make mistakes. You learn from them. 

Having to return to my studio with unsold artwork after paying so much to be in a show where I didn't sell it was disheartening. So is still feeling like I don't have enough of the right people paying attention to my work. I still feel invisible, unrecognized, and unnoticed. Still, I realized that even though it is really hard being an artist sometimes, it would be even harder doing something I hate every day. I suppose the good thing about this experience was realizing this. Yes, the thing I love to do is typically a very, very hard way to make money, but I still want to do it anyway.

I don't think I will be paying to participate in any more shows for a very long time unless I finally get a grant that can cover the cost. Despite my disappointment, I'm glad I got to be a part of the inaugural The Other Art Fair in Chicago and hope that it will somehow lead to better things.