Someone told me years ago how one family started their art collection. Each person in the family started an individual “art fund” and as they would visit galleries, they would keep an eye out for affordable art they could buy. Because it was especially hard for the kids to save up enough to buy a piece of art, the parents pitched in a bit unbeknowningst to the kids. How cool to have kids who are excited to see art and value what other people create. The whole story made me excited to try this out with my family. So, it is with all of that in mind that I set out to write this post about two upcoming art events that are ideal for young collectors and families. P.S. if anyone has tried this, please let me know how you went about it…..
The biggie event this weekend is a favorite of mine: The Affordable Art Fair. Though, yes, you have to sift through it all, you can find wonderful pieces that are worth the trek. Don’t you love the above photo of the ram (available at the AAF)? All the works are priced from $100 up to $10,000 which means new collectors and savvy collectors can both get excited about the show. You can’t go wrong if you stop by the following galleries that I think are steadys: Aperture, Muriel Guepin Gallery (from Brooklyn), Visual Arts Gallery/SVA and A.I.R. Gallery.
So children can enjoy not only looking at the art, but making it, there’s a Kids’ Studio with classes on both Saturday and Sunday. Mothers with accompanying children on Mother’s Day get free admission.
Details:
May 5-8th. On Thursday, May 5, 6-8 pm there is free admission.
Located at: 7 West New York at 7 West 34th Street New York, NY 10001
Tickets are $20/day and children 12 years and under are free. Mother’s Day Special: mothers with accompanying child receive free admission.
Small Works for Change flyer
The other weekend art event that I find intriguing is the “Small Works for Change” that will be debuting at the Brooklyn Flea on May 21st. Each donated work will be sold for $25 with all the money from sales going to the artist’s charity of choice. Many of the charities are Brooklyn or NYC based. All work is anonymous until sold, and all art will be available to purchase at the Brooklyn Flea in Fort Greene on May 21st (with hopefully more dates to follow.) They are still looking for artists to donate work: even kids can contribute to the cause. This truly is affordable art for everyone!
All information is at www.smallworksforchange.org