SEATTLE--Electricity was in the air as over 60 local, national and international galleries descended upon CenturyLink Field Stadium for the inaugural Seattle Art Fair opening night Preview party on July 30, 2015. Co-produced by Art Market Productions and Paul Allen's company, Vulcan, Inc., the art fair is Seattle’s opening bid to become a destination of scale for art enthusiasts and collectors.
Max Fishko of Art Market Productions has gauged Seattle as fruitful grounds for growing into this role. “Seattle’s an amazing place," he said. "There’s an incredible art scene that is especially welcoming. There's great art, there’s great dealers, there's great museums so all of that adds up to a ripe opportunity to come in and do something great in a city where great things are sort of possible.”
Over 4,000 people filtered through the fair with sales reported across a range of price points, according to Art Market Productions.
To see images of the Preview Party, view our slideshow:
View Slideshow.
Over a dozen Seattle galleries are represented in the fair including Greg Kucera Gallery, Winston Wachter Fine Art (New York/Seattle) and Platform Gallery. At the preview, Jim Wilcox of Greg Kucera Gallery liked the way the Seattle Art Fair was unfolding.
“It’s just like what you would want an opening of an art fair to be like, a lot of people thrilled to be here,” said Wilcox. "What’s the best part about being here? The excitement of curious new collectors."
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Robin Eley's art is exhibited with 101/EXHIBIT at the Seattle Art Fair. Photo by Amber Cortes.
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In addition to witnessing the excitement of opening night—and being part of it—was the idea artwork was getting seen by a wide range of people from Seattle and beyond.
“Sometimes you just need to be in the presence of the artwork to appreciate what you’re seeing," said Wilcox. "With the fair, the people in Seattle get to see the artwork that comes to them and the fair exposes us to the people who come, just to see, this conglomeration of artwork all at once.”
The Seattle Art Fair preview raised over $85,000 for Artist Trust, according to the art fair. The non-profit organization is dedicated to supporting Washington State artists working across all disciplines through artist grants and professional development training programs.
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Checking out Micah Ganske's "Ocular EVA Pod", 2015, at 101/EXHIBIT at the opening of the Seattle Art Fair. Photo by Amber Cortes.
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To see images of the Preview Party, view our slideshow:
View Slideshow_________________________________
BASIC FACTS: The Seattle Art Fair will be presented from July 30 to August 2, 2015 at CenturyLink Field Event Center, 800 Occidental Ave S., Seattle, WA 98134. A Preview benefiting Artist Trust was held on July 30, 2015. The Seattle Art Fair is being presented on July 31 and August 1 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on August 2 from noon to 6 p.m. For details and programming, visit www.seattleartfair.com.
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Amber Cortes is a freelance multimedia journalist living in Seattle.
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