I Heart Art Fairs

Assembly Art Fair • July 22-26 • West Canal Yards

There is a short modern history of art fairs here in Seattle, beginning in 1962 with the exhibition at the World’s Fair. This was the first major opportunity for Seattle to show off, albeit with few artworks, what local artists were doing relative to the world stage. Technically, it was not an art fair, but it did have art in a fair (although so does the Puyallup Fair…but I digress). 

From 1986 to 1988, Rodney Stuart held the Pacific Northwest Art Fair in the old Seattle Design Building on Western Avenue. It was ably done with mainly regional galleries. I remember it being very active and fun, with a “Let’s throw a party!” vibe. From 1992 to 1997, Irene Mahler presented ArtFair/Seattle, a grander event at the downtown Westin Hotel. She engaged with the community more, and brought in artists to make prints to raise funds and to celebrate the event, notably a very nice, large-scale print by Fay Jones, printed by Marcia Bartholme. This time, the art world and local big-ticket collectors took more notice. There were national galleries in attendance, and even Larry Gagosian showed up in 1995. Then The Affordable Art Fair made an attempt in 2013, but suffered from an unfortunate location and very uneven quality of artworks. And lest we forget, there is the Bellevue Arts and Crafts Fair, reappearing annually since 1947. It has left the mothership of the Bellevue Arts Museum, and is now the Bellevue Arts Fair Weekend, so I wish it well. It brings in thousands of visitors annually to sip and nosh whilst admiring the wares.

In 2015, a new art fair was born fully formed, thanks to the vision and financial backing of art collector Paul Allen. The Seattle Art Fair was an immediate success, both with the press and the public. The New York Times covered it as a regional cultural event. International powerhouse galleries sat shoulder to shoulder with our local galleries. There were lines around the block to get in, the art glitterati flew in, movie stars were sighted, and there was free shrimp. There were big-ticket artworks for us to look at and for the local High-Net-Worth individuals to buy. After Paul Allen’s death, the NYC galleries dropped off quickly. Then the pandemic shut the Fair down, only for the Fair to reemerge two years later under the ownership of Art Market Productions. The Fair never seemed to find its groove after that, with slowly sinking sales and dwindling higher-profile galleries. One criticism heard by many galleries was that the “VIP Collector Experience” was no longer.

Addressing the observation that the serious art collector had no place to go, The Assembly Art Fair has its inaugural offering July 22 through July 26. Running concurrently with the Seattle Art Fair, this fair is being developed by two Seattle galleries: Traver Gallery and Greg Kucera Gallery. Their intent is to better attend to the collectors through a more conversational setting—rooms instead of booths and artworks presented in a curated fashion—akin to seeing the work in the galleries themselves. In order to accomplish this, Assembly will be held in the beautifully redesigned West Canal Yards, trading in square footage for a more personal and inspiring environment. Formerly a frozen fish warehouse, the space now boasts a soaring atrium, canal-side access…and there is even parking. Traver Gallery director Sarah Traver notes, “Seattle’s collector community has grown substantially, and there is a clear appetite for an event that prioritizes curatorial depth over scale. Assembly is grounded in the idea that fewer, more considered presentations, set within a striking architectural space, create the conditions for true discovery and deeper engagement.” 

This all seems like a very ambitious enterprise, but it does seem to reflect a prevailing attitude towards art fairs in general. There are a growing number of smaller fairs nationally that are drawing crowds and high praise from collectors and the public alike. There will, of course, continue to be the extravagant, uber-rich fairs in the major art hubs throughout the world, and there is a place for them at the hog trough of contemporary art. However, not everyone wants all of the snooty pre-func brunches, stifling academic programs, esoteric artists talking with enigmatic curators, and parties that we are not invited to. I applaud the efforts to return art to the interested, rather than just the moneyed. 

By aligning Assembly with Seattle Art Fair, it speaks highly to a shared interest in the well-being of the Seattle art world. Carol Clifford, co-owner of Greg Kucera Gallery, emphasizes that the timing of the launch is indeed intentional. “Our goal is to contribute to the city’s cultural vitality while establishing a vibrant arts destination for both locals and visitors. We have received an overwhelmingly positive response from galleries, collectors, curators, and artists.”

Above all, I want to see good art. Yes, that criterion is slippery. I want to see original thought, expressed in whatever media is best fitting the intention. I welcome the self-taught, the less academic, the more emotive, the witty, the minimal, the storyteller, and the awkward, rambunctious, and strange. I want to be able to afford it, but not by buying cheap goods. I want something to invest myself in, to support the artists and the galleries. As author Annie Ernaux wrote in The Years, “To save something from the time where we will never be again.”  

Now, go buy some art.

Milton Freewater

Milton Freewater is an arts writer living in Seattle, Washington.

Assembly Art Fair, located at 1100 W Ewing Street in Seattle, Washington, occurs July 22-26. For more information, visit https://www.assemblyartfair.com.