Reykjavík Grapevine - 20.05.2011, Page 29

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Welcome Velkomin
29
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 6 — 2011
Art | Commerce
Aðalstræti 2 / 101 Reykjavík / tel. 511 1212 / sjavarkjallarinn.is
FEEL WELCOM E
Fischersund
Vesturg
a
ta
A
ð
a
ls
tr
æ
ti
Tryggvagata
Austurstræti
Hafnarstræti
Ingólfs-
torg
Hafnarhús
At the SEAFOOD CELLAR RESTAURANT we place New
Nordic kitchen in the forefront. We are a seasonal
restaurant that worships everything that Icelandic
nature brings us as well as getting a few things from
Scandinavia. We only use the freshest and the best
nature brings us. We, and our ambitious, productive
friends collect and produce the raw materials and
bring it home. We serve it with love and respect for
the ingredients and the environment around us.
We do it our way.
Making an alternative art fair in Iceland
An article about MESSA by its organiser
MESSA Teaser is a small-
scale ‘teaser event’ in
preparation for the first
international visual art fair
to be held in Iceland. It will open on
May 20 and features a select group
of Icelandic and international art-
ists, as well as galleries and col-
laborative projects, who will be
provided spaces to exhibit and sell
their work and promote themselves
to the artworld and the general
public.
The art fair as THE most important
international venue for promotion
and sales of art today
Art fairs are temporary spaces where
galleries and other participants of the
art market bring contemporary artwork
to promote and sell. The artwork can
be purchased on site by the public, but
is mainly sold to dealers, collectors,
gallerists and other active participants
of the art market.
Art fairs started emerging within
the art market shortly after the mil-
lennium. The first Frieze Art Fair, for
instance, was held in London in 2003.
Following the success of Frieze—now
one of the biggest international plat-
forms of the contemporary artworld—it
wasn’t long before other major cities
around the world caught on. Art Basel
in Switzerland, FIAC in Paris, France,
the Armory Show in New York and Art
Basel Miami in Florida, to name a few,
were launched shortly afterward, and
are now held annually.
Nowadays art fairs are one of the
most important and effective tools
of the art market. They are opening a
new era in which participants of the art
market have a one-time chance and an
opportunity to explore, view, sell and
buy contemporary art.
Iceland as the new contributor to
the new era of the art market!?!
Iceland has a population of around
320.000. The nation’s vibrant and dy-
namic art scene is driven by a group
of inspired artists from various back-
grounds and influences who create
innovative works and events for a
dedicated audience. However, because
of the relative infancy of the local art
scene—as well as for geographic and
economic reasons—Iceland has not
been in a position in the past to open
up to the international commercial art
market in the same sense as neigh-
bouring European countries. There-
fore, access to the art market by way of
Iceland is quite limited. Consequently,
regional artists are at a disadvantage
when it comes to promoting their work
to an international audience, and the
regional audience is not as likely to be
exposed to the work of international
artists.
This is a problem, especially when it
comes to emerging contemporary art-
ists trying to get footing in the larger art
world. This is a problem that needs to
be addressed, and it is one that could
be solved by the implementation of
MESSA—Iceland’s first alternative in-
ternational art fair.
So what will MESSA bring to the art
world?
The artworld is a tough and brutal
place with many different participants
who have various goals and aims,
where the art works themselves some-
times get lost in the dynamic bustle.
It can be tricky for the emerging indi-
vidual or freelance visual artist to es-
tablish and maintain their careers, but
it is important for them to keep up their
profile. Art fairs are important in this
process, as they can bring artists’ work
to the attention of people from all over
the world.
However, many artists find art fairs a
weird environment. A traditional art fair
showcases new and established artists
to an international audience, and the
artists exhibited are almost exclusively
promoted by galleries, with no involve-
ment from the artists. That being said,
and bearing in mind the current eco-
nomic landscape, the art market is suf-
fering and the old model is no longer as
effective a way for emerging artists to
successfully promote themselves and
their work. Now is the time for fresh,
new ideas.
The fresh new idea is MESSA!
MESSA will not be a commercial art
fair in this traditional sense. Instead, it
will make a precedent for a new kind
of an art fair. What will make MESSA
exceptional is that special emphasis
will be placed on promoting and exhib-
iting the work of emerging individual
or freelance visual artists, enabling a
crossover between the established and
non-established.
Also, MESSA will not only focus
on selling art and potentially making a
profit. MESSA aims to be more of an
art event, with the dual purpose of giv-
ing emerging artists the support, con-
nections and knowledge they need to
cultivate their future careers in the art
world, while also giving the general
public access to new and exciting tal-
ent and artwork to which they might
not otherwise be exposed. MESSA will
help to create a platform for network-
ing, sharing, collaboration, connections
and support within the visual arts.
A one-time opportunity to buy art.
MESSA will set an example for the in-
volvement of the general public within
the art world. Who doesn’t want to light
up their life with a beautiful work of art,
or go around in the pub with their ex-
ceptional knowledge of contemporary
art and the hottest thing today, or just
add another rare piece to their collec-
tion?
So join us for MESSA Teaser on Sat-
urday, May 21 2011 at KEX Hostel from
11.00–20.00 to nurture your eyes and fill
your homes with interactive and beau-
tiful contemporary art works.
Featured artists in MESSA Teaser in-
clude Anni Leppälä, Björk Viggósdót-
tir, Etienne de France, Harpa Dögg
Kjartansdóttir, Katie Bethune-Leamen,
Klængur Gunnarsson, Leó Stefáns-
son, Þorgerður Ólafsdóttir and more.
Featured galleries in MESSA Teaser
include 002 Gallery, The Lost Horse
Gallery, and our guest of honour, The
Corridor, the oldest running gallery in
Reykjavík. Featured publications in
MESSA Teaser include Endemi and
Crymogea.
In addition, a symposium about the
making of an alternative art fair in Ice-
land will be held on Monday, May 23,
at the SIM house, at Hafnarstræti 16, in
English and open to everyone!
Harpa Fönn Sigurjónsdóttir is owner and director of FRAFL.
FRAFL, incidentally, is responsible for MESSA. So read her article with that in mind.
MESSA Teaser will be held the weekend of May 20, 2011 at KEX Hostel, Gym and Tonic, Skúlagata 28, 101
Reykjavík and will be free and open to the public on Saturday, May 21 from 11 AM to 8 PM.
“However, many artists find art fairs a weird
environment. A traditional art fair showcases new
and established artists to an international audience,
and the artists exhibited are almost exclusively
promoted by galleries, with no involvement from the
artists.”