abC formally announces the launch of "Open M Art Fair", embracing richness and possibilities of medium with our open mind."M" points to Material, Media, Mind, Maker...which we've concerned all the time."Open" is not only a preserved state, but also a Manifesto calling for all of you.
In collaboration with a7CreatorLab and its space "MEWS马厩", abC plans to hold the first edition of "Open M Art Fair" by the Luxe Lake (Chengdu) in spring, 2024. The application channel for the event is open to creative practices with unique characteristics of authorship, medium, and materials from now on. Submit🔗
With the help of abC platform, we intend to establish a favorable environment for the diversified art creations outside the existing art market, and provide more specific promotion and value recognition.
SAVE THE DATE
Installation & Preview Day
March 28th, 2024 (Thur.), 15:00 - 20:00
Fair + Exhibition
29th - 31st (Fri. - Sun.), 2024 12:00 - 20:00
Exhibition
2nd April - 26th May, 2024 11:00 - 20:00(Closed on Monday)
The initial edition of "Open M Art Fair" will include a 3-day fair and 2-month exhibition. A total of nearly 3000㎡ indoor and outdoor space will be used, including various scenes such as 2 connected indoor halls and plaza, lakeside and dunes. 50% of the total content will be special exhibitions independently curated by the abC team. Besides, the Fair section includes 60 standard table booths, 20 DIY booths and 5 art project spaces. Following the closing of the Fair, the Exhibition section will be extended to the end of May.
Questions
We ask ourselves some questions and answer them with a few classical examples in the art world and from Chinese emerging artists (group), hoping to give everyone a better understanding of "Open M Art Fair". If you have more interests or questions, please contact fair@a-b-c.work.
Q: What is the motivation for a new event?
We ask ourselves: What's the engine of abC? Initially, it's about art, originating from the passion for art and the pursuit of art. Books thereupon become the specific foothold. We are fond of characteristics of books: flexible (including portable and relatively affordable), approachable, and accessable. What we love more is the high involvement of artists, their imprints and concepts. It is an individual artwork itself. We praise its spirituality, but never shy away from admitting that we like its tangibility, paper, material, form. It could be a box or a sculpture.
abC pays special attention to those creations with authorship, specific matters, and intermediality, which don't start or end with their own materiality. They're able to expand, extend, take on other forms or being recombined.abC concerns reading, seeing, comprehension and expression.
Q: What kind of works does "Open M Art Fair" welcome? Submit🔗
- Artists' Books
- Single medium or multi-medium and comprehensive material artwork, not only usual paints, comics, photographs, but also artworks made from various materials such as paper, fabric, wood, metal, plastic, glass, pottery, resin, finished objects and etc.
- Artists' Multiples, a series of identical art objects produced or commissioned by artist according to his or her idea, usually a signed limited edition made specifically for selling. They are equipped with "work" nature, emphasizing authorship, originality, and finiteness. Multiples have been called the most accessible and reasonably-priced contemporary artwork.
- Art Merchandise, usually developed with the authorization of artists or their agency. It is a combination of art and product, with certain artistic added value and product commerciality. Open M prefers to choose art merchandise that artists are involved in and are highly related to their creations.
- Independent Designers' Product/Project, Open M focuses on designers' systematic search on concept, visuality and materials, which could be appropriatly applied to daily life products.
Q: Can I apply for this event if I'm not directly engaged in art creation or design? Submit🔗
If you're an art merchandise producer; art management agency such as gallery, art museum, art organization and art store; art material or service supplier such as paper, paint, printing studio and etc., you are the vital co-builders of the ecosystem. Open M intends to build an industry platform and provide richer and more practical metarial for creators and visitors to understand and experience, thereby creating positive mutual dialogues and communications.
You're also welcome to apply if you are art content communicator such as paper-based media, self-media, podcast and music label. Open M hope to present how contents and materials are organized and disseminated, and promote face-to-face communication between audience and outstanding behind-the-scenes teams.
Q: Except booths and artworks, in what kind of form will Open M highlight the media characteristics and process of creation? Submit🔗
Public education has always been the focus of abC events. Open M will specifically increase the porpotion of workshops, combining some booths and real-time workshops to present different creating stage simultaneously, demonstrating the complementary relation beteen artistic concepts and technical methods.
Postscript
abC starts a new journey with "Open M Art Fair", believing in the vitality of materials, the spirit of objects, the warmth of hands, and the changes generated by different media, which is enough to brew new possibilities.
Heidegger regarded the mere thing, the material that constitutes the work, as "the earth." Stone is originally a cold material ("worldless"), and the earth is originally self-locked, but through the hands of the artist, it is brought into the world of meaning called "art." The earth therefore reveals itself. (Das Werk Lasst die Erde eine Erde sein.) "All this comes-forth in that the work sets itself back into the massiveness and gravity of the stone, into the strength and suppleness of the wood, into the hardness and lustre of brass, into the glowing and darkening of color, into the ringing of tone, and into the naming power of the word." [1] Just as the word is brought to life by the poet, materials is brought into the open by the work. World worlds on top of the earth.
OPEN and CREATE will lead us to a shared future.
[1]Martin Heidegger, THE ORIGIN OF THE WORK OF ART, Translated by Roger Berkowitz and Philippe Nonet.
“M”指向我们多年工作中始终关心的：Material, Media, Mind, Maker…“
打开 Open”是一种保持的状态，也作为一则指令”Manifesto”，向大家发出邀请。
2024年春，abC携手阿发奇(a7CL)及其运营空间「MEWS马厩」,将于成都麓湖湖畔举办首届“打开—— Open M Art Fair”。即日起面向具有作者性与媒介性、材料性的创作实践开放参展报名，2月25日截止。报名入口🔗
借助abC平台的力量，为现有艺术市场之外的其他多元化艺术创作建立良好的环境，更切身的推广与价值认同。
活动日程
展方内部交流 / 媒体及VIP开放日2024年3月28日 (周四) 15:00 - 20:00
展会活动 + 展览2024年3月29日 - 3月31日 12:00 - 20:00
后续展览开放时间2024年4月2日 - 5月26日 11:00 - 20:00 (周一闭馆)
本次“打开—— Open M Art Fair”包含3日展会活动与为期2个月的展览，共使用MEWS马厩室内及户外近3000平方米，包含2个相连的室内展厅以及广场、湖畔、沙丘等多种场景。由abC团队自主策展的特别展览占总内容的50%，另外规划桌面标准展位60个，D.I.Y展位20个，项目空间5个，以及品牌展位8个。在展会活动结束后，展览内容包括项目与部分品牌空间将继续延展至5月底。阿发奇作为在地独立创意机构，也将与abC深度合作，共创内容。
—— ？
我们试想了几个问题，作答并引用一些具有代表性的经典作品作为范例，同时也分享一些abC关注的国内艺术家的相关作品（与最终展出作品无关）。仅希望借此让大家更加了解“打开—— Open M Art Fair”，如有更多疑问，可致信 fair@a-b-c.work 我们也会在接下来的推送内容中一一揭开面纱。
Q：一个新事件的驱动力是什么？
我们问自己，abC的引擎是什么？它首先关于艺术，源于对艺术的热爱，源于对创造的追求。而后书成为那个具体的落脚点。我们喜欢书的那些特性：灵活（包括便携、相对廉价），亲民，易于分享；更喜欢的是艺术家高度参与，其中手的印记和观念的倾注。它本身即是一件独立的艺术品。我们赞扬它的精神性，但也从不羞于承认喜欢它的物质性，纸张、材料、形式。它可以是一个盒子或是一件雕塑。
abC关注 具有作者性与材料性、媒介性的创作，作品不会以其自身的物质性开始或结束：它可以扩展、延伸，成为其他形式，重新组装。abC关心 阅读、观看、理解与表达。
Q：“打开—— Open M Art Fair”欢迎什么样的作品？报名入口🔗
- 艺术家书 Artists' Books
- 单一媒介或混合媒介、综合材料的艺术作品，包含常见的绘画、版画、漫画、摄影等，也欢迎使用不同物质材料进行创作，包括但不限于纸、织物、木头、金属、塑料、玻璃、陶瓷、树脂、现成品等。
- 多版限量艺术品，艺术家根据自己的想法委托或自己制作，一般只有限量的签名版被用于市场流通。有足够“作品性”，强调艺术创作的作者性与有限性。目前“多版限量艺术品”被认为是艺术市场最易得，且性价比最高的当代艺术品。
- 艺术衍生品，通常由艺术家或其代理机构授权开发, 是艺术与商品的结合体，具备一定的艺术附加值和产品商品性。Open M 更倾向于选择有艺术家参与，与本人创作高度关联的衍生产品。
- 独立设计师产品/项目，Open M 聚焦设计师针对其概念、视觉、材料具有系统性的研究方向，恰到好处地应用于日常可使用的产品之上。
Q：如果我不直接从事艺术创作或设计，可以报名参展吗？报名入口🔗
如您是艺术衍生品开发者；艺术品经营或代理单位，如画廊、美术馆、艺术机构、艺术商店；艺术材料或服务供应商，如纸品、画材、漆料、印刷工作室等，也欢迎您报名参展。Open M 有意搭建行业平台，提供更为丰富实用的材料供创作者与观众了解和体验，从而创造双向积极的对话交流。
如您是艺术内容传播者，如纸媒、自媒体、播客、音乐厂牌，也欢迎您报名参展。Open M 希望呈现内容与材料如何被组织并被传播，促成创作者、观众与优秀幕后工作团队的面对面交流。
Q：除了展位展品，Open M 将以什么形式突出创作的媒介特性与过程性？
公教活动一直是abC活动中的重点。Open M 将特别增加工作坊的比重，以部分展位结合实时的工作坊的形式，将创作的不同阶段状态同步呈现，展现艺术观念与技术手段相辅相成的关系。欢迎您在报名的同时打开思路，提交创意活动方案，具体咨询可联系：jiaxin@a-b-c.work
写在最后
abC以“打开—— Open M Art Fair”开启新旅程，相信材料之活力、物之灵性、手之温度，相信创作于不同媒介流动中所生成的变化，足以酝酿新的生机。
海德格尔把纯然物、构成作品的质料视为“大地”，石头本是冰冷的材料（“无世界的”），大地本是自行锁闭的，经由艺术家之手，带入到具有意义的世界——“艺术”，大地才去除遮蔽显现了自身。“作品把自身置回到石头的硕大和沉重、木头的坚硬和韧性、金属的刚硬和光泽、颜料的明暗、声音的音调和词语的命名力量之中。” [1] 正如词语经由诗人的使用，才成为诗、保持为词语，材料在作品中“敞开”，在大地之上构建起世界。
期待“打开”与“创造”，使我们再次相遇。
[1] 引用自《艺术作品的本源》，海德格尔，1935／1936，孙周兴 译