Persoonlijke uitnodiging voor kunstbeurs Londen (Engeland) ontvangen

Via de e-mail ontving ik een persoonlijke uitnodiging van Parallax Art Fair met als onderwerp regel: “Exhibit in London July 2022.”

De e-mail wordt gestuurd door de booking manager van Parallax Art Fair.
Een vergelijkbare e-mail had ik een aantal jaar geleden (in oktober 2018) ook al ontvangen, maar van deze mogelijkheid heb ik toentertijd afgezien omdat ik op dat moment ook bezig was met een kunstbeurs in Le Carrousel du Louvre in Parijs en was ik in onderhandeling met Art Productions New York, die tot een expositie leidde tijdens Art Expo New York in 2019.

Parallax Art Fair organiseert naast de kunstbeurs in Londen waarvoor ik word uitgenodigd, ook kunstbeurzen in New York, Miami en Los Angeles.

In ieder geval ontving ik onderstaande e-mail:
Dear Tjeerd Doosje,

I hope you are well and in the best of health.

I am the booking manager for Parallax Art Fair in London.
I originally got your contact on your business website, where you were promoting your works, and I thought the fair would be a good opportunity and legitimate interest for you in this respect. 
Parallax has served artists for over 10 years and, unlike other events, we aim to keep your breakeven point low and train you in selling.
The fair takes place at Kensington Town Hall in London 1-3 July 2022. We have been featured on BBC London and London Live, and are one of the largest of our kind in Europe, attracting 10,000 visitors, as well as 300-500 exhibitors.
The cheapest space is just £35.
Average sales are between £300-£3000.

The venue has a car park, so travelling and unloading work is easy.
No tools are needed to hang work.
You can also ship work to the fair and there is no import VAT or duty as we hold Temporary Admission status with the British tax authority.
All exhibitors get a copy of our handbook and training videos.

Thanks for your time.
We look forward to working with you.
The application deadline is 18th February.
Feel free to email in reply if you have questions. 

De kunstbeurs is dus in Kensington Town Hall van 1 tot en met 3 juli 2022 en trekt zo rond de 10.000 bezoekers.
De toegang voor bezoekers tot de kunstbeurs is gratis.

Dat laatste is een belangrijk onderdeel in de filosofie van Parallax Art Fair, want de organisatie vindt dat kunst voor iedereen beschikbaar moet zijn.
Op hun website staat hierover het volgende te lezen:

We believe that there are a lot of old-fashioned ideas in the arts that are simply baggage now.
It is time to get rid of them and move forwards into a bright new world. It is time to set us free.

Everything we do stems from questioning what art history is and whether it is right to allow it to determine what we think today.
This is especially so in the areas of buying and selling of art & design, how we determine what is contemporary, the way exhibitions are run, how museums display their collections and the way people are taught to think about art & design.
One important effect of our philosophy is that we have no entry fee in our fairs.
We believe that the aesthetics lying behind art & design has the power to enrich minds, improve mental health and well-being, and inspire all hearts to great achievements.
We are proud to say that the rich and poor walk side-by-side in our fairs and all are treated equally.
We don’t have a VIP department.
Because everyone is a VIP.

This same philosophy carries through in how we seek to treat our staff, you’ll be pleased to hear, building up their confidence and skills in an industry well-known for its ‘sleaze’ and difficult career entry.

En verderop op de site:
We’re noted for doing things a bit differently and pushing boundaries.
Whether it is from free entry and no commission through to no selection committees, philosophical tracts and education, everything we do is about putting control back into the hands of the people that buy and display products as well as those that make products.
And that often means having to help artists and designers “unlearn” what they are taught in art colleges because you can’t make a living from objects merely as “art research”.

To this end, many thousands of visitors have enjoyed unique art and design from over 9000 creative entrepreneurs during the last decade and we have helped many of those creative entrepreneurs to have the confidence to set up their own businesses and exhibitions.
When you buy at Parallax you not only enrich your aesthetic experience you truly do something special too.

Ik vind het een prachtige en terechte filosofie en sta daar ook achter.
Maar er is meer.
Door de website browsend zie ik dat Parallax Art Fair óók de mogelijkheid biedt om werk online te verkopen.
Dat niet alleen: ze begeleiden de kunstenaars in het hele proces en nemen zelfs de afhandeling van het versturen van het kunstwerk van de koper uit handen van de kunstenaar.
Daarbij wordt wel commissie berekend:
We will add 22% to the price you decide, with 2% of that for shipping, but will advise if your price is too high or low (for tips on how to price refer to a copy of our exhibitor’s handbook), or we will adjust shipping cost to make your price attractive.
The works must be in your studio, for sale and undamaged.

Echter, om voor bovenstaande in aanmerking te komen, zal er eerst deelgenomen moeten worden aan een kunstbeurs en dat is waarvoor ik nu ben uitgenodigd.

Deelnemen aan de kunstbeurs biedt daarna nog weer andere mogelijkheden en is daarom misschien ook wel interessant.

Ik zal de booking manager antwoorden dat ik geïnteresseerd ben, maar dat ik er nog wel even over wil nadenken.
Gelukkig heb ik nog de tijd tot en met 18 februari om een definitieve beslissing te maken.

Wordt vervolgd?