Dallas Art Fair
The Downtown Dallas Arts District, where the Dallas Art Fair usually takes place (photo via Wikimedia Commons)
Due to the ongoing pandemic and the rapid rise in Covid 19 cases nationwide, the future of in-person Art Fairs is uncertain. Texas’ best, The Dallas Art Fair, recently announced the cancelation of its upcoming fall edition offering little reimbursement for the booth fees already paid and a credit toward next year’s fair. This is a major blow to small and midlevel galleries already struggling to survive the severe financial turmoil. For many, the cost of a booth is equal to one months rent. An article in Hyperallergic cited one individual who preferred to remain anonymous: we '“had already paid the entirety of its $10,000 booth fee by the time the fair was canceled, but the organizers have promised the gallery only a 50% credit on a booth for next year’s event.”
Some gallerists are pushing back, calling Dallas Art Fair to do the right thing and fully reimburse the costs. Allegra LaViola, founder of Sargent’s Daughters in Manhattan’s Lower East Side said “I ardently hope that Dallas Art Fair will step up and do the right thing by their exhibitors, especially those of us who are small businesses with already tight margins,” LaViola said. “The exhibitors put our faith in the fair and they need to be working WITH us to find solutions to help us recover from the loss of not only money, but opportunity.”