Armory Show Brings Art World To New York This Week

If Richter in Europe, or even LA is a bit far away for you, than surely you can take advantage of this week’s art happenings in New York City.

It is that time of the year again: The Armory Show – The International Fair of New Art, will be held March 5-8, 2009, and take place at Pier 94 on Manhattan’s west side, in New York City. It has been an important art fair devoted exclusively to contemporary art since its introduction in 1999.

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Armory Arts Week

The Armory Show continues to be the catalyst for Armory Arts Week, an exciting series of events in New York City that have become requisite in the international art circuit. Over twenty prominent art collectors open their homes for exclusive Armory Show VIP viewings, while embassies, international cultural consuls and museums hold special receptions for our VIP guests.

Armory Arts Week is a premier art happening attracting some of the world’s most enthusiastic international and domestic collectors.

Every March, artists, galleries, collectors, critics and curators from all over the world make New York their destination during Armory Arts Week. The Armory Show has taken this opportunity to launch its first ever series of public programming in celebration of the City’s unparalleled artistic communities in a different neighborhood each night. Events include special receptions, open studios, art tours, museum discounts, performances, panels, artist discussions and parties.

PUBLIC EVENTS BLANKET THE CITY DURING ARMORY ARTS WEEK, covering a different neighborhood’s art community highlighted each night of the week –

New York, February 19, 2009 – Every March, artists, galleries, collectors, critics and curators from all over the world make New York their destination during Armory Arts Week. The Armory Show has taken this opportunity to launch its first ever series of public programming in celebration of the City’s unparalleled artistic communities in a different neighborhood each night. Events include special receptions, open studios, art tours, museum discounts, performances, panels, artist discussions and parties.

Armory Arts Week already attracts visitors from all over the world, as well as residents of New York City and the Tri-State area. According to a 2007 independent Economic Impact Study, of the 52,000 visitors to The Armory Show, 56 percent (29,000) were visitors to New York City; out-of-town visitors were comprised of 11,000 from other countries, 5,000 living in the suburbs of NYC, and 13,000 from elsewhere in the United States; and among all out-of-town visitors, 73 percent cited The Armory Show as their primary reason for being in New York City.
Some highlights of Armory Arts Week include open studios at The Studio Museum in Harlem on Tuesday, March 3rd during Uptown and Museum Mile Day; a tour of Selections Spring 2009 with exhibition curator Nina Katchadourian and exhibiting artists at The Drawing Center on March 5th on SoHo Night; a talk about works from the Citi Collection of Fine Art by Suzanne F.W. Lemakis, director and curator at the Henry DeFord III Gallery on March 6th, A Day In Queens; the grand opening of The Boiler, featuring an installation of Tavares Strachan’s “The Distance Between (Arctic Ice Project),” a 4.5 ton block of ice from the Arctic, displayed in a solar-powered glass freezer, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on a street that will be closed to traffic for a festive evening on March 7th; and a Sunday gallery walk in the Lower East Side beginning at the New Museum Lobby and featuring limited edition artist designed maps on March 8th.

Schedule of events & map (pdf)

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What’s New at The Armory Show 2009

The Armory Show is expanding in size and scope to introduce The Armory Show – Modern, a new section dedicated to international dealers specializing in historically significant Modern and contemporary art. The new section will debut this year at the adjacent Pier 92. Piers 92 and 94 are located on Twelfth Avenue at 55th Street in the Passenger Ship Terminal complex.

The Armory Show was first presented in February 1999 at the 69th Regiment Armory, the site of the now-legendary Armory Show of 1913 that introduced Modern art to America.

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The fair is the successor to the highly acclaimed Gramercy International Art Fairs that attracted thousands to their New York, Los Angeles and Miami shows between 1994 and 1998.

Why Go

With the City being home to more art collectors, galleries, first-class museums, critics and artists than any other city in the world, this week-long celebration, including the Armory Show, has been the world’s leading art fair devoted to the best art of the 20th and 21st centuries.

In 2008, The Armory Show, The International Fair of New Art, enjoyed another successful year in both sales and attendance. $85 million in art was sold and we welcomed 52,000 visitors; Preview Day alone saw 7,500 invited collectors.

“The Armory Show and Armory Arts Week are great ways to New York City’s thriving arts scene while taking in the excitement and beauty of our Style & Scene hotels,” says George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Company. There has never been a better time to visit New York City and experience our City’s vibrancy while enjoying considerable value.”


Armory Arts Week | Armory Art Fair | Videos

Video I of the 2008 Armory Arts Show

This event kicks off a weekend of frantic art viewing. Though not as large as Basil Miami, but with over 160 international galleries represented, this is New York’s premier fair. Highlights include glances of work by Mary Heilmann, Gilbert and George, Thomas Hirschhorn, Richard DuPont and many of today’s hottest talents. Also included is a demonstration of “Vigilomiter” by Brian Dewan at Williamsburg’s Pierogi

Video II of the 2008 2008 Armory Arts Show

A brief tour of the Armory Show with peeks at work by Jonathan Meese, Keith Mayerson, Gilbert and George, Rodney Graham Terry Winters Berry McGee and others.

The Armory Show International Fair

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