I am pleased to announce Zero Art Fair is coming this July to upstate New York. The fair is an experimental model built out of the Store-to-Own project I launched back in 2020. Now, working with artist Jennifer Dalton, we have transformed that concept into an art fair where all of the work is free, but with the same strings attached so that artists can give their work away, without giving up on its value.

To help launch the fair and raise funds to bring it to life in Elizaville this July, we are throwing a party at The Francis Kite Club on Sunday, April 14th from 6 - 8pm. The party is free and open to the public, but we are asking people to help out by buying a ticket at one of the different tiers on offer. We are funding our project in a progressive manner, inspired in part by Mark Bittman’s idea for a progressively priced restaurant, where we acknowledge there are people who need help to live with art, people who can afford to live with art, and people that can help others live with art. We’re trying to fund Zero Art Fair the same way, so please consider contributing what you can.

At this early stage in the development of our first edition of ZAF, we are an unincorporated organization created by me and Jennifer. We are in the process of building an advisory board and a curatorial committee for the fair. We want to pay people who help us make the fair happen, and eventually, if possible, pay ourselves something for the hundreds of hours that we have contributed, but that’s after we’ve covered all of our expenses. This all means that we are not a non-profit 501c3 and we don’t have fiscal sponsorship, so contributions to the fair are not tax deductible. Currently, contributions will be handled through Donorbox and the Stripe payment system under my LLC, Powhida Art. If the fair is a success and moves forward, we will pursue one of those options to formalize our commitment to remaining a not-for-profit project. We aren’t here to make a profit off the work of the artists who are willing to take part in an experiment with us, to see if there are other ways of valuing art.

We hope you’ll join us Sunday, April 14th, to learn more about Zero Art Fair. We’ll be joining Manon Slome (founder of No Longer Empty) and Laura Hanna (The Francis Kite Club and Debt Collective) to talk about the fair and other models for art and community, including how to fund them without giving up accessibility and openness. In the sprit of the Kite, we’ll also  be in conversation with artists and collectors in the audience about their own experience with re/sales, inventory, storage, and trades.

Event Info here: https://www.franciskiteclub.com/#/events/102165

If you’re already interested in participating as an artist or collector, please take a moment and fill out our interest survey on our website.  If you’d like to get involved in other ways, partnership, sponsorship, or just lending a hand, please email us at zeroartfair@gmail.com and we’ll be in touch.

Prints available through the fundraiser:

William Powhida
What is an Artist? (2017)
Letterpress
16 x 20 inches

Jennifer Dalton
Artist’s Candy (2015)
Silkscreen
27 x 27 inches