Visitor FAQ 

Visitor FAQ

Why is the fair closed?
We ran out of art midday Saturday after a wonderful reception by visitors to the fair.  We have 5 works left that we hope will find a home in the future.  If you are interested in learning what is still available please send us an email at zeroartfair@gmail.com. 

What do I need to know if I want to come and collect a work of art? 

Visitors will need to have access to their email so that they can receive and sign a contract electronically. So bring your cell phone and ensure you can receive email on it. We will have wifi available.

There is a default limit of one art work per person per day. On Sunday, the last day of the fair, we may adjust this policy so that people can take more than one work if supply allows. 

The names of collectors, artists and art works matched through the contract will be posted publicly on this website to help everyone stay in touch and to aid in enforcement of the contract. 

If you're interested in a larger work of art, consider bringing blankets or other padding in your car to ensure its safe transport.

What is Zero Art Fair?

Zero Art Fair is an art fair where all of the artwork is offered for free, but with strings attached in terms of artists’ rights. These are detailed in our contract that governs the release and eventual transfer of the work to the new collector. 

Why is it happening?

Every artist we know has a storage problem. Meanwhile few people we know can afford to live with the art they love. What if these two problems could cancel each other out, even a little bit? The artists behind Zero Art Fair have long enjoyed critiquing the art market. This is an effort to build something rather than just participate a critique of existing institutions. 

Who is responsible for this? 

Jennifer Dalton and William Powhida are Brooklyn-based artists who have a long history of critiquing the systems of the art world, and an equally long history of making more artwork than they sell. In addition to their individual artistic practices, since 2008 they have collaborated on art interventions addressing problems of access, hierarchies and power imbalances, among them #Class and #Rank in conjunction with Winkleman Gallery in 2010 and Month2Month, in conjunction with More Art, in 2016.

Where did it happen? 

Zero Art Fair took place in a beautiful barn at 365 W Pond Lily Rd, Elizaville, NY 12523. 
The Fair was open from July 19th - July 20th. 

Is the art any good? 

Yes. It was great! 

How do I collect a work for free at the fair?

Visitors to the fair will be able to browse the art in a lovely (and quite possibly very warm) barn.  Once the visitor has identified a work they are interested in acquiring for free, we ask them to bring the ID tag for the work to a Zero Art Fair attendant. You may hold only one ID tag at a time! The attendant will require the visitor's name and email address to send them an copy of the contract for the work to sign on their smart phones.  Visitors must bring a smart phone that they can connect to free wifi in the barn to access to their email.  Once the contract has been signed, the Zero Art Fair team will take the work down and visitors can repack it in its original shipping materials and take it home.  We ask visitors to keep in mind the size of their automobile and the size of the art work they are acquiring.  Zero Art Fair cannot transport or arrange for transportation of works.

What if I just want to buy the work and skip the contract?
We would love to see artists sell their work at the fair.  That's how the art market usually works, but not everyone has that privilege.  If a visitor has the money and inclination to buy a work at its listed retail price, Zero Art Fair will provide the artist's available electronic payment addresses to the buyer.  Once we've confirmed that the payment has been sent to the artist, we will release the work to the buyer in the original packing it arrived in.  Zero Art Fair requests that 10% of the artist's proceeds go to Zero Art Fair, and the buyer may chose to cover that fee adding 10% to the cost. 

Is this a replacement for the art market? 

This is not meant to replace the market. It is an experiment that can exist alongside it. We hope that is art work will have value in the future if a collector choses to sell it after the vesting period. 

Why does this model involve artists working for free, yet again?

Our perspective is that the market is a fiction for most working artists. Artists sell artwork when they can, but most make far more work than they can sell, and would be thrilled to have more of their artworks find loving homes.  This is a way to take that work out of the dark. 

What is the money you raise going towards? 

Building the wall structures the artwork will hang on, buying supplies for the fair, paying people who work with us, renting port-a-potties, paying to participate in Upstate Art Weekend, buying event insurance, subscribing to software, and other practical realities of making this happen. We are committed to transparency; we will continue to post our expenses and fundraising. We ourselves are not currently getting paid, but we are logging our time. If we end up with funds after taking care of the above we will pay ourselves $25/hour for our time to the extent possible. 

Did you invent this idea? 

No, but this is our twist on an idea that’s been out there for decades. Here are some of our inspirations and antecedents:

Seth Siegelaub and Robert Projansky’s The Artist's Reserved Rights Transfer and Sale Agreement

Adam Simon’s Fine Art Adoption Network

Craig Platt's Trashed exhibition in Los Angeles 

Sean Naftel’s Free Art at #Rank

Yevginiy Fiks’ Adopt Lenin at Winkleman Gallery
Cameron Rowland's rental agreements 

Jade Townsend’s Crazy Amazing Garage Sale at Auxiliary Projects
William Powhida's Store-to-Own contract and project 

Who’s helping you? 

Current sponsors include Blue Medium Public Relations, Flag Art Foundation, Netvvrk, B. Avery Syrig Art Services, Supreme Digital, and private individuals who have contributed to help this happen. We have also been helped by our advisory board and our curatorial committee along with several amazing volunteers.