echo Art Fair has announced the date and location for its 4th annual juried fine art exposition. The dates are September 6 and 7, 2014, and for the first time, the fair will be hosting the show in the same location as the previous year. That means that the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library’s Central Library (BECPL) in downtown Buffalo will be home to showings from emerging local, regional, and international artists. “We are excited to host echo Art Fair again this year. Libraries are about community, and the fair brings a wide variety of art and artists from WNY—and beyond—directly to the community in a single setting,” said Mary Jean Jakubowski, Director of the Public Library System. “Libraries and art go hand in hand; as such, art is an important component of literacy and thus hosting such an event supports our mission: connecting our diverse community with library resources that enrich, enlighten and entertain.”
Last year echo Art Fair drew over 110 artists to show at a space that few people were even familiar with. Against all odds, including inclement weather and a home opener Bills’ game, the fair still managed to hit record art sales. “We are extremely excited about holding echo Art Fair at the downtown Central Library again this year, as it proved to be an incredible venue for the fair last year,” stated Fair founder E. Frits Abell. “From the 25,000 foot floor-to-ceiling window-lined exhibition space, to the multiple floors that accommodated site-specific installations, to the central downtown location.”
To heighten the anticipation of this year’s fair, the following jurors have been announced that will be selecting the artists and the galleries: Cathleen Chaffee, Curator of Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; Colina Maxwell, Executive Director, Centre3, Hamilton, Ontario; Robert Scalise, Registrar & Collections Manager, UB Anderson Gallery, Buffalo, NY; Catherine Foley, Arts Patron; and Rosyln Goldman, Collector, Rochester, NY. Artist mediums include painting, photography, sculpture, prints, works on paper, video and mixed media.
If I may be so bold as to offer a suggestion to organizers of the echo Art Fair – aside from the site-specific art installations, it would be great to see some more activity leading into the gallery on the plaza. An outdoors café setting with some live music would create an incredible atmosphere from start to finish. Obviously the plaza activity would be weather contingent, which is fine because there are plenty of concessions inside as well. Even if the focal point outdoors is not on food and drink, the nature of the plaza is to offer a warm welcome to the visitors, and then give them an equally nice send off.
*Artists and galleries are invited to submit their works for consideration starting Monday, March 3, 2014. Submission guidelines and additional details regarding the event, including sponsorship opportunities, are available at echoartfair.com.