KSMoCA International Art Fair, 2018
Due to renovations at the school, the KSMoCA International Art Fair 2018 wasn’t even hosted at KSMoCA! Instead we found ourselves standing inside the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art surrounded by kids from MLK Jr. School and beyond, artists and institutions from our community, and artwork from as far as Copenhagen, and we reflected on how a site-specific project in an elementary school in NE Portland became a space to contemplate new ways of being in the world.
Together with 17 exhibitors, 14 KSMoCA students, 3 Portland State University students, 3 Living School of Art students, several collaborators, and countless volunteers, we found ourselves excitedly thinking out loud—How can we spend more time doing this? Over three weeks of intensive work at PICA, we met as a group to collectively create the type of art fair we want to see.
This fair was centered around 1-on-1 relationships between exhibitors and students, and we saw these partnerships as essential to the process. Throughout our time together, many things surfaced as topics, including: joy, dreams, politics, sadness, bell hooks, respect, revelry, cartwheels, self-love, and the market price of a painting. We focused our time thinking about and discussing collaboration and power dynamics between generations, horizontal learning structures, and our own expectations of art.
What started as a project for democratizing the “Art Fair Experience” has expanded into an ongoing conversation about community building across institutions and individuals. The fair is an opportunity to see a lot of amazing Portland projects in one space at one time, developing friendships with kids—everyone sharing their resources, curiosity, time, and passion with each other. This experimental art fair makes clear the absolute genius of young people, and it shows us that learning happens in all directions when we let it.
—Roz Crews and Amanda Leigh Evans
Co-Curators of the 2018 KSMoCA International Art Fair
ABOUT THE FAIR
The 2018 KSMoCA International Art Fair was organized by Harrell Fletcher and Lisa Jarrett, co-curated by Roz Crews and Amanda Leigh Evans, and produced in collaboration with MLK Jr. School students, PSU students, and community partners. This kid-scale art fair, hosted this year by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, was the culmination of a special 3-week summer program that paired each booth exhibitor with 3rd-7th grade MLK Jr students and PSU students, who participate as gallerists, artists, exhibitors, and curators in artistic and curatorial projects.
The KSMoCA International Art Fair ran from August 10-12, 2018 in partnership with Converge 45 and included programmed panels, activities and performances throughout the weekend. All portions of the fair are free and open to the public.
EXHIBITORS
Exhibitors displayed contemporary artwork that was co-created, curated, organized or produced in collaboration with their student partners. Exhibitions throughout the fair included works by emerging artists, collaborative works with students and presentations by established artists. The KSMoCA International Art Fair was a commercial art fair and many of the works on display were available for purchase.
2018 Exhibitors Included:
Blue Sky, Byron Kim, Chicken Coop Contemporary, Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery, Elizabeth Leach Gallery in collaboration with c3:initiative, First Brick, KSMoCA, Malia Jensen, Samantha Wall, Nat Turner Project, Nicolai Wallner, Portland Museum of Modern Art, Portland State University Art & Social Practice Program, Portland Tropical Gardens, TINY GALLERY, UNA Gallery, and Victor Maldonado.
FAIR ORGANIZERS
Lisa Jarrett, Co-Director
Harrell Fletcher, Co-Director
Roz Crews, Co-Curator
Amanda Leigh Evans, Co-Curator
Maggie Heath, Exhibition Coordinator
Roshani Thakore, Curatorial and Education Assistant
Kimberly Sutherland, Graphic Design
Opening Reception
Friday, August 10, 2018
Opening Remarks at 5:30 PM
Special performance by Amenta Abioto at 6 PM
Friday August 10 (4-7PM)
4-5:15PM Portland State Student Projects
5:30PM Opening Remarks
6-7PM Performance by Amenta Abioto
Saturday August 11 (12-5PM)
1-2PM Workshop with Portland Tropical Gardens
2-3PM Panel chaired by Roya Amirsoleymani with kids from KSMoCA and institutions participating in the fair
3:30PM Performance by Lonnie Holley
Sunday August 12 (12-5PM)
1-2PM Workshop with home school
2-3PM Panel chaired by Victor Maldonado with kids from KSMoCA and artists participating in the fair
Visiting Hours
Friday, August 10, 2018 from 4 PM - 7 PM (Opening Reception)
Saturday, August 11, 2018 from 12 pm - 5 PM
Sunday, August 12, 2018 from 12 pm - 5 PM
No Entrance Fee
All events located at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA)
15 NE Hancock St, Portland, OR 97212
KSMoCA International Art Fair, 2017
Presented at the King School Museum of Contemporary Art in collaboration with Lisa Jarrett, Amanda Leigh Evans, and Harrell Fletcher. Huge thanks to all the kids who participated and the Portland State Students who helped make the fair possible including Shannen Muhl, Alley Frey, Avery Bloch, and Mindy Marler.
KSMoCA is pleased to announce the KSMoCA International Art Fair. The kid-scale art fair is the culmination of nearly 60 hours of special training that a select group of K-6th grade MLK Jr students and PSU students receive on commercial art fair practices. Seventeen internationally recognized exhibitors will display original artwork available for purchase through a program that uniquely pairs each booth with students who participate as gallerists, artists, and assistants in sales and curatorial projects. Visitors can find works ranging from experimental publications by young artists to museum-quality paintings, sculptures, installations, photography, social practice, comics, and new media.
Find out more about the fair here.
The fair ran from August 11-13, 2017 in partnership with Converge 45 and included programmed lectures, panels, and performances throughout the weekend. It was organized by Harrell Fletcher and Lisa Jarrett, co-curated by Amanda Leigh Evans and Roz Crews, and produced in collaboration with MLK Jr School students, PSU students, and community partners.
Exhibitors: Adams and Ollman, Blue Sky Gallery, c3:initiative, Chris Johanson, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Honor Fraser Gallery, Johanna Jackson, Miss Anthology Comics, Nationale, Pete Brook & Sarah Mirk, Pedro Reyes and Patricia Vasquez, Portland Institute For Contemporary Art with UNA Gallery, Portland Museum of Modern Art, Portland State University School of Art + Design with Ralph Pugay, Public Annex, Upfor
PROGRAM & PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Friday August 11
5-6PM Sanatorium
6-7PM Holcombe Waller
Saturday August 12
Sanatorium (10am-2pm)
Public Annex (12-1pm)
Panel with Kids from MLK Jr. School (1-2pm)
Sunday August 13
Sanatorium (10am-2pm)
Panel with Kids from MLK Jr. School (1-2pm)
Weird Allan Kaprow Karaoke (2-4pm)
Sunfoot Performance (4-4:30)
