Cube Art Fair’s innovative solution to creating art space during Covid-19
The Frieze art week (May 5 to 9) in New York City this year may have already passed, but its impact lingers and continues to expand. One of the coolest events that took place during the week would be the world’s largest public art fair held by Cube Art Fair.
The pandemic has put a halt to in-person art shows or exhibitions. However, the fair took a completely innovative approach to make art, creativity, and hope visible and available to the over 10 million citizens in NYC.
Cube Art Fair
Cube Art Fair created the #staycreative campaign to provide a platform for artists who were unable to hold their in-person shows during the pandemic. The campaign enhanced public exposure and visual impact of the artworks; it encouraged both commoners and artists to stay creative and hopeful during the pandemic.
“We came up with the idea of thing art and displaying it to everyone with the hope to inspire people not only to stay safe but also to #staycreative. This is why our campaign’s hashtag is #staycreative. I am thrilled to see that our artists can remain creative and can inspire others to do the same.”
Gregoire Vogelsang, Founder of Cube Art Fair, Press Release.
A gathering of talented artists around the world
The fair featured 100 artworks on over 100 billboards, kiosks, newsstands, and bus stops around NYC. Among all these locations, the most impressive spot was a giant 12,000 sq/ft billboard at the heart of Times Square.
Artists whose artworks were on display: Jonas Leriche (New York), Laura Jane Petelko (Toronto), Kenneth Willardt (NYC), Griet Van Malderen (Brussels), Tigi Van Gil (Brussels), Kelli Fischer (Memphis), and more (check out at the end of the article!)
We love the fact that Cube Art Fair gathered all these talented artists from all over the world and embedded their artworks in the everyday scene.
“Artist have not stopped creating and the public demand to see art has not stopped either. It’s up to us to be imaginative and think outside of the box to connect both together.”
Gregoire Vogelsang, Founder of Cube Art Fair, Press Release.
The form of Cube Art Fair
The art fair chose to show the artworks via tangible media agencies that we see in our everyday lives. In this way, it transformed the city into its exhibitionary space and offered everybody equal accessibility to arts.
However, why didn’t it present the artworks in a traditional method like an in-person gallery gathering or run the event on a more convenient platform like the online viewing room?
Gallery space is very limited; the small, confined space is not likely to provide visitors the best viewing experience. Additionally, because of the pandemic, people still have to follow the social distancing protocol to ensure individual safety.
Online viewing event can be a convenient method indeed. However, human participations in art viewing and discussion in the event will become hard to perceive and measure. Moreover, within the digital space, the textures and emotions of the arts can be greatly diluted by the screen.
Recreating human interaction
Through presenting the artworks at the most iconic spot – Times Square – in the world, the event recreated an open art space that was gigantic, safe, accessible, and welcoming.
This open space allowed many people to gather in the same spot safely at the same time. Within this space, people were given the freedom and full access to appreciate the art.
People stopped, took photos, engaged, and initiated conversations with other people. In a way, the event also engendered human interactions that have been interrupted by the pandemic.
Other billboard locations that also featured the artworks were: 66th and Columbus St, 67th and Broadway St, 57th and 5th Avenue, Madison Ave, Grand and Mott St, Broadway and 13th St, Union Square, Herald Square, and Central Park South.
Cube Art Fair at the heart of Times Square
What the art fair did was groundbreaking.
At this most iconic spot in the world, the fair did not air advertisements, but a collection of amazing artworks instead.
It created a moment that was so unique and meaningful – like the single calmness in an ocean of hungry commercials. The #staycreative campaign delivered culture feeds to people’s minds and hoped every person who saw the artworks would be benefited from their experiences.
Art for New York City
New Yorkers reflected in their conversations with the founder of Cube Art Fair, “we have never seen art like this at Times Square. It’s usually just advertisement here.” They also agreed that seeing art in such a public space was already a big achievement and they are curious to see what’s next.
As the space was open to everybody, it also became a non-prejudiced space. It welcomed everybody to participate in the art world as well as NYC culture. No judgement, no pretension, more authenticity, it was all about the good vibes.
We are excited to see what great artworks and changes Cube Art Fair will bring to the public next!
More artists from the event to check out
Rubem Robierb (Miami), Paul Emile Rioux (Montreal), Nikki Vismara (San Francisco), Christophe de Fierlant (Brussels), Lisa Ledson (San Francisco), Daniela Moellenhoff (Hamburg), Cécile plaisance (Paris), Olivia de Posson (Brussels), Tigran Tsitoghdzyan (New York), Didier Engels (Brussels)
For the artists’ complete information, check out Cube Art Fair here.