For greater than three many years, the Artwork Sellers Affiliation of America’s (ADAA) annual Artwork Present in New York Metropolis served as the most important supply of unrestricted income for the Henry Road Settlement, the Decrease Manhattan social providers nonprofit. Final month, this very important stream of funding was axed when ADAA introduced that it had cancelled this yr’s iteration of the truthful whereas additionally discontinuing its longtime fundraising partnership with Henry Road.
The nonprofit is now fundraising to recoup not simply the anticipated income for this fall’s canceled version, but additionally the hundreds of thousands it projected to obtain from the Artwork Present’s gala preview occasion and ticket gross sales within the years to return.
“ This is a real-time crisis for us to try to raise the revenue to make up for the loss of the show,” Garza stated.
The Henry Road Settlement is one in every of New York Metropolis’s very important social providers and cultural organizations, reaching greater than 50,000 individuals via its schooling, employment, housing, healthcare, and humanities packages. Since 1988, the Artwork Present has raised greater than $38 million for the group, which additionally receives basis and authorities funding and particular person contributions.
This would be the first yr in many years that the ADAA’s signature Artwork Present truthful won’t be held on the Park Avenue Armory. (picture by Scott Rudd Productions, courtesy Henry Road Settlement)
Reached by Hyperallergic, an ADAA spokesperson confirmed the top of the partnership with Henry Road whereas emphasizing that the choice to halt this yr’s Artwork Present is “a pause, not a cancellation.”
“As we look ahead, the ADAA is refining its philanthropic and programmatic strategies to better support a national arts infrastructure, one that responds to today’s realities and ensures our resources, relationships, and platforms more effectively serve our members, partners, and the broader arts community,” the ADAA spokesperson stated.
Based in 1962, the ADAA presently represents greater than 200 galleries throughout almost 40 cities in the US. Within the final decade, its membership has considerably elevated, whereas the variety of truthful individuals has principally hovered round a mean of 73 to 74 galleries, peaking at 78 in 2022 and 2023.
The ADAA spokesperson emphasised that the choice to not perform this yr’s Artwork Present truthful “was not driven by market forces, exhibitor contraction, or diminished sales.” However one ADAA gallerist, who spoke on the situation of anonymity after the ADAA requested members to not interact straight with the press, stated that the Artwork Present’s important problem is that “there are simply too many fairs.”
“The Art Show stands alone on the calendar in an increasingly busy season, and the traditional Park Avenue clientele has aged,” the vendor stated, including that they suppose the group’s board made the precise choice to cancel this yr’s truthful. “The art world has changed dramatically since the ADAA was founded in 1962, and it’s healthy to reassess.”
Katherine Bernhardt’s work on the Two Palms sales space at The Artwork Present in 2024 (picture Rhea Nayyar/Hyperallergic)
No matter whether or not the pivot was a strategic enterprise transfer for the sellers’ affiliation, the transfer has been a blow for the Henry Road Settlement, illustrating the domino impact that the choice has had on longtime companions. One other ADAA vendor who spoke on situation of anonymity informed Hyperallergic that they’ve “always associated the Art Show with Henry Street and with the 69th Regiment Armory.”
“It was quite a historic convergence of histories and service,” the vendor stated. “The end of this event is a huge loss.”
In response to the top of the partnership, Henry Road has launched another fundraising marketing campaign known as the Open Doorways Initiative. People could make one-time or month-to-month donations or help discrete initiatives, resembling funding after-school golf equipment for elementary college kids or offering meals for older adults.
Garza stated that the nonprofit hopes to recoup the $1 million funding hole, despite the fact that there’s nonetheless “ a high degree of uncertainty.”
“ The Art Show was such an established, rare, and unique venue,” Garza stated. “Our hope is that we can maintain connectivity with the art world, the artists that have supported us historically, and all the other stakeholders that believe in our mission and care about our work.”
