Washington, DC
Miami collectors Mera and Don Rubell will host a fair dedicated to emerging artists in their Washington, DC, hotel from 22-25 September 2011.
“This should be fresh, original and provocative,” says Mera Rubell of the fair called (e)merge. “People don’t really know how much is going on in Washington, DC—they only know it as the political capital, but there is a thriving art scene.”
Leigh Conner of Washington’s Conner Contemporary Art gallery, is organising (e)merge with gallery partner Jamie Smith and Helen Allen, former director of the Pulse fair. Conner says there will be about 50 participants.
The initiative springs from Conner Contemporary Art’s decade-long commitment to young artists, which began with the annual “Academy” exhibition of work by recent BFA and MFA graduates from the Washington and Baltimore area. “Young artists are not getting as much support as they need, and so many artists of great promise fall by the wayside,” says Conner. “Most works will be under $3,000—that’s how much emerging art should cost.”
