Art Addict

The Giving Season

Spring has sprung and many of New York's non-profit art spaces are gearing up for their annual gala funding events. Pick a space, any space. If you can afford it, spend an evening partying and hob-knobbing with other giving souls. If you can really afford it, take an emerging artist or two with you and introduce them to collectors and curators. Here are two of my favorite spaces:

Artists Space Spring Benefit
Monday, April 24 at 7pm
(rsvp cut off was today, but call for available last minute tickets)
Enticements: Limited editions by Carroll Dunham, Barnaby Furnas, and Kate Shepherd and a raffle including luxury trips to London, LA, and Mexico. (Raffle tickets can be purchased online and you don't need to attend the evening to participate.)

Smack Melon's Kentucky Derby Party and Art Auction
Saturday, May 6 at 4pm
Enticements: Check out Smack Mellon's new DUMBO space; Art Auction and raffle of over 100 works of art

Studio Visits R Us

I have written about the thrill of a studio visit here. If you are shy about asking for a studio visit or would feel more comfortable in a group, welcome to Art on Site.

Art on Site presents a series of monthly New York City/Brooklyn area visits to "studios of cutting edge contemporary artists working in a wide array of media." The tours are organized by area - Lower East Side, Dumbo, Williamsburg, etc. - and take no more than 10 people to three or four artist studios per tour.

Upcoming Tours:
Wednesday, May 3: Dumbo*
Tuesday, May 23: Brooklyn Navy Yard*
*Transportation is provided

Details:
All tours are from 10-12pm
The cost of each tour is $65.00
(optional lunch at end of tour - you pay)

Contact:
Ellen Deutsch
212.472.3031
or
Jo Ann Alter
212.534.5924

[email protected]

They do not provide a sample tour on their web site so I wrote to find out who they plan to visit on their next tour. I was told that the tours are finalized just a few days before the tour so they couldn't name any artists, yet. But, they did share with me the artists that they visited on their last two tours and I was impressed: Will Cotton, Adam Cvijanovic, Santi Moix, and Ryan McGinness on the Lower East Side tour and Bruce Robbins, Margaret Evangeline, Wayne Gonzales, and James Nares on the Long Island City tour. They also do private tours if you aren't interested in mixing with the rif-raf.

No excuses now...get to a studio! Maybe I'll see you on one of their next tours.