NYC Artwalk
an “art fair” where an organization that claims in it’s own words “is not affiliated with any art collectives nor artist-run organizations” contacts artists via instagram to apply to be displayed at their various exhibition locations. The exhibitions that artists pay for are posters pasted up against scaffolding and the outside border of outdoor dining areas – so in some places, the middle of the street. They target people who are not able to actually see the work in person, i.e international artists from Kenya, etc. Usually these take place nearby where a legitimate art fair is going on. So it’s similar to attempting to display the posters, without paying the entree fee for the actual exhibit. Their marketing even states “will be displayed near another art event going on at the same time”
The fee to apply is non refundable (~$60) plus anywhere from $700 and more to have the work up. This is for poster board pasted to restaurant barriers. If the company’s online presence had thousands of followers, it may be one thing for the exposure, but its not. Their two sponsors are very vague, one which is simply a “pay for sponsored press release or art review” site with no press releases and is under the same domain registration as the Artwalk is. None of the artists have gotten any monetary benefit from participating, nor any increase in social media exposure. It’s literally a scam run by a woman who, indeed is an artist, but paints outside of vetted, pre-organized art fairs instead of displaying her work inside. I can’t imagine how another artist could so callously be okay with taking advantage of other people who want their work out there. Unfortunately, huge scam.
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