The War of Art

By Rachelle Bowden in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 29, 2005 4:20PM

We're just jumping on the bandwagon with the title of this post.. it seems like the thing to do when writing about the art fairs this weekend. We're not sure who came up with the headline first, but Time Out Chicago ran a multi-page feature on the art fair "war" and so did the Sun-Times. We're guessing that TOC had it in print first.

If you've been LOST* on a deserted island and don't know what we're referring to, the quick rundown is this: Art Chicago used to be a HUGE event in Chicago. It brought people in from all over the world and made Chicago THE place to be for major players in the art world. In recnet years interest waned and then its owner Thomas Blackwell got into financial and legal problems with Navy Pier, where the fair was held every year, and he and the fair and the pier parted ways after last year's fair.

So.. that left an opening on the Pier.. and a new venture Chicago Contemporary & Classic, run by the former director of Art Chicago, is holding their fair there. But Art Chicago's not out of the picture, they're still having thier fair, but it's going to be under and enormous tent in Grant Park's Butler Field and it's going to be called Art Chicago in the Park. And both fairs are going to be THIS weekend.

To add art to the art to the art, Michael Workman is heading up a new art fair, the NOVA Young Art Fair. It's in the West Loop and features grassroots and emerging dealers. Also, to make the "war" a little more juicy, NOVA is partnered with Chicago Contemporary & Classic.

So, wage your battle, choose sides, go to one art fair and not the others: that's what the hypes all about right? Or, if you're like Chicagoist you'll just plop down the 5 bucks and go to the NOVA Young Art Fair. It's the only one who's admission is in our meager budget and we believe in supporting the up-and-comers.

* Are you as obsessed with this show as we are?