At Atlanta’s Other Art Fair, attendees can purchase art for as low as $200

Stone Mountain artist Angela Lanell looked forward to selling her work at the inaugural The Other Art Fair in Atlanta this week for several reasons.

Notably, the artist wanted to take her mom to the event to see the work she’d inspired. Lanell said she’d begun working on a new series titled “The Weight of Feeling” in August as her mother, who had been diagnosed with lung cancer, entered hospice. Her mom was one of her earliest patrons, encouraging Lanell to paint for at least one hour per day throughout her childhood.

Her mother died Sept. 20, two weeks before the fair, but attendees will still get to see the work she inspired.

Lanell is one of 100 artists — roughly 30% of whom are based in Georgia; 60% are based in the Southeast — who were selected from a pool of more than 500 applicants to participate in The Other Art Fair, set to make its debut in Atlanta on Thursday through Sunday at Enspire Mercantile in Chosewood Park. The event will coincide with the Atlanta Art Fair at Pullman Yards in Kirkwood.

While the latter provides an opportunity for consumers to purchase art from various galleries, The Other Art Fair has positioned itself as an accessible alternative for independent, emerging artists to connect with consumers without a middleman.

Patrons can purchase art for as low as $200. The fair will also feature DJs, food and drinks and interactive art installations. Tickets start at $20.

After receiving applications through an open call, a rotating selection committee selects artists who show promise or have effectively depicted a strong personal style and perspective. Among the five-person jury for Atlanta’s fair is local curator and art adviser Karen Comer Lowe.

A charcoal drawing of Lanell’s mother wearing an oxygen tube will be for sale at the fair this week. In the drawing, the woman’s eyes are closed as she grasps the tube, which extends into the shape of a heart before wrapping around her wrist — a depiction of the varied feelings and anticipatory grief families often feel when a loved one is dying.

“If you look at my previous work, normally I focus on the resilience, strength and triumph of a woman, and this goes a little bit deeper than that,” Lanell said. “I felt like I was documenting something in a diary, but it was visually.”

While the artist hopes to be acquired by a local gallery eventually, she said she’s also come to enjoy art fairs where she can meet buyers and engage with them on their interpretations of her art.

“I like the fact that I get to come and represent myself,” Lanell said. “You get to meet me. You get to talk with me.”

Roswell-based contemporary abstract artist Shanon Schneider previously owned Synergy Fine Art studio and the Loft gallery, while also showing her work in other settings, including outdoor fairs, expo fairs and high-end boutiques.

“I do think the model for how artists show their work is shifting away from the traditional, (where you) put your art in a gallery (and) people go see it,” she said. “The galleries kind of separate the artist from the potential collector.”

Where galleries often take between 30% to 60% of an artist’s selling price, The Other Art Fair receives 18%, plus booth rental fees ranging from $2,050 to $2,870 in Atlanta. “I do think when you’re selling directly to someone, your pricing structure can be more affordable for people,” Schneider said.

For Mableton resident and pop surrealist Miles Davis, selling directly to consumers also creates an atmosphere where buyers — versus a few curators — decide what sells.

“Art is for everybody and I don’t like it when I see a small handful of people dictate to an entire city or entire population what is good art and what is bad art,” he said.

Nicole Garton, the fair’s global art director, insists The Other Art Fair is meant to complement more traditional events like the Atlanta Art Fair. For some emerging artists, she said, the fair is often a steppingstone between festivals and gallery fairs.

“For us, it’s really about being complementary and supportive of the art ecosystem,” she added. “It’s a great way to support the local gallery scene by saying, hey, here’s the pick of the litter. Come and see who you might want to consider working with.”

Founded in London in 2011, the inaugural Other Art Fair coincided with the Frieze Art Fair. The event was subsequently acquired by the digital art retailer Saatchi Art, expanding to U.S. cities including New York, Dallas, Chicago and Los Angeles.

The fair provides resources to participating artists, including marketing workshops and booth operations tips, ahead of the fair.

Artist Jennifer Mack-Watkins, a professor of art education at Georgia State University, also received additional one-on-one mentorship as the fair’s New Futures recipient.

“You get an understanding of what it takes to sell a work of art at a fair like this,” she said.

The Decatur-based artist’s work has been acquired by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Library of Congress and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And she’s participated in several art fairs and has been represented by art galleries.

Still, she said, this is her first fair as a solo artist. The New Futures program was launched in 2021 and awards recipients with free exhibition space, among other support opportunities.

The ultimate goal for most artists this weekend will be to secure sales, but Mack-Watkins said she appreciated the opportunity to connect with fellow artists, too.