Crains New York - January 21, 2013 - (Page 22)

Fair game for art market Continued from Page 21 their schedules or going on the block: The venerable Armory Show, one of the city’s stalwarts that has been in the midst of sharpening its focus, is about to be sold, sources say. Critics complained the show had become too large, which created a springboard for other fairs to pop up, offering a better shopping experience. Soaring art prices are also increasing demand for fairs. Major galleries may garner 50% of their revenue from fairs, while smaller ones could pocket as much as 75%. That’s why gallery owners from Chelsea to Bushwick, Brooklyn, will shell out up to $90,000 to be represented at a fair even though they already have a location in the city. “Art fairs are extremely useful,” said Elizabeth von Habsburg, managing director of the Winston Art Group, an art appraisal and advisory firm. “One way to educate clients is to take them to a fair and walk around with them to give them an easy opportunity to see what is out there.” Satellite shows Frieze co-Director Amanda Sharp said the company decided to create a fair in New York because of the requests it received from collectors and galleries. It is different from other fairs because 65% of the 180 galleries that will set up in a temporary structure on Randall’s Island in May will present exhibits that originate from outside the U.S. “You have extraordinary galleries and strong auction houses here, but you didn’t have anything that was the intersection between Beirut, London, Berlin and New Zealand,” said Ms. Sharp. Big fairs have spawned smaller satellite shows that run simultaneously, with either different kinds of art or works from less-established galleries. There are at least four fairs that run in March to coincide with the two traditional behemoths of the New York scene, the Art Fair and the Armory Show. Frieze’s entry last year, however, shook up the traditional lineup because Pulse, a contemporary satellite fair, opted to run in May along with Frieze instead of operating in March,as was customary.Additionally, the New Art Dealers Alliance held its first-ever fair in New York during Frieze. This year, there are expected to be three new fairs taking place in ‘You need to be there, and you want to be there’ May, including Cutlog, a Parisbased fair that is making its New York debut. Another is MasterWorks, created by Sanford Smith, a 30-year-plus veteran of the business. The show will run during Frieze at the Park Avenue Armory, although it might as well be called the anti-Frieze show because it showcases everyone from Old Masters to 21st-century artists. “I’m counterprogramming against Frieze,” said Mr. Smith. “But Frieze brings the collectors, and real collectors want to see everything.” Collectors’ and gallery owners’ dissatisfaction with the growing size of the Armory Show helped provide a fertile landscape for Frieze, sources said. The Armory Show hosted 289 exhibitors in 2010, and its executive director, Noah Horowitz, conceded that it just “didn’t feel luxurious.” He said the show has become more selective: Last year, the Ar- mory Show hosted only 228 galleries, and this year the number will fall to 210. Meanwhile, there will be about 14 lounge spaces at the fair, triple the number of 2010,and there will be fewer and wider aisles so collectors can see the art more easily. Crucial exposure “We have restructured and repositioned,” said Mr. Horowitz, who was promoted to his current post last fall after joining the show in late 2011. Mr. Horowitz declined to comment on rumors that the fair, which is owned by a division of Vornado Realty Trust, was being sold to Louise Blouin, an owner of several art publications such as Art + Auction and Modern Painters. Ms. Blouin and her representatives didn’t return calls. She is also reportedly buying at least three other Vornado-owned fairs, including Volta New York. “The fairs are like medieval marketplaces. Everyone is around, and things just happen,” said Mary Sabbatino, a vice president of Galerie Lelong, which will have booths at the Art Fair and Frieze this year. Ms. Sabbatino can’t say how much of her sales comes from the various fairs she attends but says the exposure is crucial.“You need to be there, and you want to be there,” she said. Fair owners don’t get a cut of the sales. They make money by selling sponsorships, booths and tickets to the events. This year, 40 galleries want to be at the Outsider Art Fair,up from 34 in 2011. That’s just one change. It will be held this year at Center 548, a state-of-the-art space with Hudson River views, instead of its former location,a West 34th Street office tower. There will also be two special exhibits and a host of panel discussions—events that Mr. Eldin hopes will draw collectors. “I’m hoping that I’m making it better than it was before,” he said. Ⅲ ART FAIRS PAINT THE TOWN IN MARCH Ⅲ THE ART SHOW March 6-10 Park Avenue Armory Ⅲ SCOPE NEW YORK March 6-10 Skylight at Moynihan Station ᮤ THE ARMORY SHOW March 7-10 Piers 92 and 93 courtesy of the armory show Ⅲ INDEPENDENT NEW YORK March 7-10 548 W. 22nd St. Ⅲ VOLTA NEW YORK March 7-10 82 Mercer St. 22 | Crain’s New York Business | January 21, 2013 SOURCE LUNCH: SHARON GERSTEN LUCKMAN by Miriam Kreinin Souccar Alvin Ailey director dances offstage W hen Sharon Gersten Luckman joined the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation as its development director in 1992, the company was so strapped for cash that it didn’t have the money to pay for the postage of a direct-mail solicitation. So Ms. Luckman, a secondgeneration dance teacher, paid for the postage herself. By the time Ms. Luckman was promoted to executive director three years later, the deficit was gone, and the company had $300,000 in net assets.Since then,Ms.Luckman—who stepped down from her position Jan. 4 and handed the reins to her longtime deputy Bennett Rink—has built Ailey into a modern-dance powerhouse with $136 million in assets and a stunning 77,000-square-foot, $54 million building at Ninth Avenue and West 55th Street. What are you most proud of in your 20 years at Ailey? The building. We opened it in November 2004,and it was part of a strategic plan for how to help Ailey survive into the new century. It’s what goes on in the building, too. On Saturdays, we have hundreds of children of every skin color taking dance classes at Ailey.And at night we have the adult classes in our extension program, which was something I started. Also our camps—there were two Ailey camps for at-risk kids when I came, and now there are 10 across the country. What is your best fundraising strategy? ly so.Joan came to a great performance at the Apollo Theater where the students danced, and then the company danced. She was impressed and interested.Then we brought her to the Ailey camp and showed her what we do. What is the biggest challenge facing the dance world now? The business model for most dance companies doesn’t work. None of us can get fees to perform that cover our costs, and expenses like travel, hotels, planes, etc., are going up and up. So you have to raise more and more money to make up the difference,and that’s the main challenge for everybody. Is this a problem for Ailey? Ailey is fortunate because we get very good sponsorships from corporations. The product is excellent and we travel the world, and they feel good about having their name with us. For us, the next challenge is getting more individual donors—our percentage from individuals is less than many of the major arts organizations. It’s TRATTORIA just 4%. DELL’ARTE WHERE THEY DINED 900 Seventh Ave. (212) 245-9800 www.trattoria dellarte.com AMBIENCE: Loud, bustling. Features a grand antipasto bar. A favorite of diners before attending Carnegie Hall. WHAT THEY ATE: Ⅲ Cauliflower steak appetizer (shared) Ⅲ Margherita pizza, decaf coffee Ⅲ Chopped Caesar salad with seared diver scallops, Diet Coke Ⅲ Lemoncello pie (shared) TAB: $93.60, including tip You need to get the funder to see what you do. You have to get them out to see what’s on that stage, see what the camps look like, get them to rehearsals. It sounds so simple, but it’s not easy to get people to take the time to come see. It has to come alive to them. How did you get Joan Weill, the wife of former Citigroup Chair Sandy Weill, to join the Ailey board? So many people take credit for Joan Weill coming on our board,and right- What will your successor need to work on first? Ailey wants to keep attracting the most talented dancers in the world, especially of color. The challenge is getting those talented kids to come to New York. We give them scholarships, but we don’t have housing, and New York City is so expensive. These are 18- to 25-year-olds coming here without a support system.We started a pilot program this past September, renting 20 beds at the School of Visual Arts. I hope we grow that. I don’t know if we’ll build something or be part of a project with somebody else, but that will be a specific Ailey challenge to figure out. What’s next for you? I don’t know. I’ve done this job 24/7, and I’m happy I did. But I’d like to do something that takes my skills and uses them but also broadens me. For now, I’m going to Mexico to a spa for a week, just myself.Then I will come back and start thinking about it. Ⅲ INSIDE TIP: Order one of the thin-crust pizzas. It’s a specialty. http://www.trattoriadellarte.com http://www.trattoriadellarte.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - January 21, 2013

Crains New York - January 21, 2013
In the Boroughs
In the Markets
The Insider
Business People
Corporate Ladder
Opinion
Greg David
Real Estate Deals
Report: Small Business
Classifieds
New York, New York
Source Lunch
Out and About
Snaps

Crains New York - January 21, 2013