Interview with the Director of the fair

Can you tell us how your fair proposal differs from the traditional proposal?

We've tried to do an art fair where the barriers to accessing it are really minimized. In the traditional scheme, for an artist to show it must go hand in hand with an art gallery that is the one that represents you. We have broken with that limitation and here any artist, regardless of whether he has representation can take part directly in the fair.

It is a hybrid, Art Galleries participate, because there are still many artists whose channel of connection with the public is through the art gallery, but we also allow those artists who want to do it directly to have a more direct connection with the public not only in the economic plane (since there is no intermediation there are fewer costs that are reflected in their work), but we also consider that when the artist is next to his work he empathizes more with the public and can express things that are sometimes necessary for the public to understand a work of art.

Another differentiating element, speaking of the fair as the first point of approach and approach to the public, is to help that the public can attend. For that our fairs are always free, because while sometimes the cost of admission can be a symbolic fee, for some people this can be a reason not to access the fair. Then the fair as such democratizes these forms of access: on the one hand, the artist can take part directly without the need for intermediation and on the other hand the public can access without having to pay a ticket.

Where did the idea of holding the fair in a space as unconventional for art as a shopping centre come from and what were the results?

For us it was a challenge to use public spaces to install the fair, but it also stood for a wonderful opportunity to explore spaces where there is already an influx of public and in this line, our experience in the Fashion Shopping of Madrid was incredibly positive. To give you an idea of what is the public that expressly attends the art fair, in the earlier edition in 2021 we had about 5,000 visits, and in this last edition held in February, we came to register about 12,000. The shopping centre also registered an increase of about 15,000 visitors during the five days that the fair lasted.

How was the reception of the artists about the choice of the space?

At the beginning we had to do an earlier campaign because the artists also had their doubts and during the commercial campaign, we had to make a significant effort to explain the reasons why we believed it was going to be a success and finally the satisfactory results of the exhibition confirmed it. For artists and galleries, there was some concern in sales levels, however, in this edition the level of sales of works was doubled compared to earlier editions.

Let us talk about the impact and growth of your virtual exhibition platform, the so-called 3D Room.

On the pandemic, we took advantage of the fact that people became accustomed to using technology, to develop a virtual art platform that would allow us to cut those barriers of distance. The platform is working perfectly and now we are working on a plugin to give it greater strength. The 3D Room as we know it now is a platform focused specifically for visiting and showing works. Now we want to offer the opportunity that the works can also be bought online on the platform through an uncomplicated process.

Is it easy to buy a work without having seen it live?

We are aware that buying art is not the same as buying any other type of product, because art requires a deeper approach, so the first thing we are doing is being very selective in terms of being aesthetic that the fact of seeing them through a screen does not detract from the value of the work of art. Additionally we are developing a third product under our brand, which involves curated exhibitions, in which we select two or three artists who have their works in the Virtual Room and organize a specific exhibition in some space such as hotels that is where we are currently focusing. I can tell you that we already have an agreement with the Hilton in Spain and we are carrying out a pilot in one of its hotels here in Madrid.

Then the works that are in the 3D Room can also be showed for a period in a hotel, so that you can have the opportunity to see the work live. You can also make the purchase of the piece in the hotel itself by a QR code that will be available in the information sheet of the work. Through the code you enter directly to the virtual platform, and you can make the purchase comfortably. In the end, what it is about is to ease that art can always be accessible, either through the platform or through exhibitions that take place in this type of space. Making a fair is a complex process, so this type of exhibition in more logistically reduced spaces is easier to assemble and allows us to reach places where it would have been difficult to access.

Artist 360 has managed to translate in each of its products, the essence of breaking down barriers to bring art closer to people. Whether we are talking about the face-to-face Fair, its well-achieved virtual room or the two new products that will be available to the public in the coming months, in- novation is the hallmark that has allowed them to gain ground in the world of art and culture.