Art lovers browse the work displayed at last year's CURRENT art fair. (Photo by Terry Brown courtesy CURRENT)
The CURRENT art fair charges out for its second event, this time in a larger space, at downtown’s Main Street Station. According to Director Sarah Irvin, there are some guests who are arriving by rail, which makes the directions simple: Disembark from train, walk downstairs. “We’re hoping there’ll be more like that,” Irvin says, “maybe some who’ll just come by and see what’s happening.”
And that’s a hallmark of this event: making the art accessible.
The exhibition is free and open to the public. You can get more information about the exhibitors and ancillary activities here.
For the general public, the event runs Friday, Sept. 29, to Sunday, Oct. 1. A $50 ticketed preview party on Thursday, Sept. 28, runs from 6 to 9 p.m. A $100 Patron Level ticket includes special tours of public and private art collections.
Irvin, herself an artist with a background in private curatorial work and exhibit coordination, began putting in place CURRENT’s moving parts in February. In terms of Main Street, says Irvin, the question came down to space.
“We were looking for a location where we could take a step toward growth, put in additional programming on site, with talks and roundtable discussions,” she says.
Studio Two Three will at designated times be printing the CURRENT logo on tote bags and T-shirts. There will be other project spaces in addition to the exhibition booths of the 14 participating regional galleries. These include Petersburg’s Walton Gallery (which celebrated its fifth anniversary this year) and Charlottesville’s Second Street Gallery.
“This is a way to get all these galleries under one roof,” Irvin says. "Each gallery has its own vibe, and the visitor can see which one resonates the best with what they’re looking for.” One new component this year is guided tours, with a different guide for each 2 p.m. slot, Friday to Sunday. This is in addition to discussions with artists about their work and collectors about how they choose pieces, and why.
Artists speaking include textiles artist Andrea Donnelly, photographer Susan Worsham, print and photographic artist Holly Morrison, painter Eric Yevak, muralist and painter Ed Trask, and painter Ronald J. Walton.
And even if the fairgoer buys nothing this time, looking costs nothing, and is certainly a way to see what “The Now” looks like as interpreted by the artists whose work is on display.
CURRENT offers opportunities for collectors of all levels, from new to seasoned, as well as special access to many of the area’s gallerists and curators. A full schedule is here and printable here, and you can see what a good time was had by all last year here.
