Consumer Ed 101: Art Buying Boot Camp

Artists who exhibit at art shows are always eager to cultivate new ways to connect with people who

will purchase their work. To that end, they often express a desire to see the development of consumer education programs.

It’s heartening to see a show attempting to address this need. The 57th Street Art Fair, for 61 years a fixture amidst the leafy, brownstone-lined streets of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, introduced its “Art Fair Buyers Boot Camp” this past June. The show’s directors have recently ramped up efforts to improve quality on several fronts, instituting such initiatives as tightening up jurying procedures and visiting other successful shows to find out what works.

According to attorney Jay Mittelstead, lots of ideas are tossed back and forth during the meetings of 57th Street’s directors. Mittelstead says the volunteer board works hard to make sure the fair is centered around the art and the artists, rather than being a “C’mon down and have a beer and listen to the music sort of event.”

The directors avail themselves of a PR firm they hired to raise the show’s visibility. The firm attends board meetings, and the decision to hold a boot camp for prospective collectors developed over a couple of years. In addition to benefiting the consumers and the artists whose work they might purchase, the boot camp was thought to be a good vehicle to get the art show featured in the local papers. (The Chicago Tribune did indeed develop a piece around the boot camp and Mr. Mittelstead’s missed opportunity to purchase a portrait of “Scraps the Wonder Dog,” which became a central theme of the article.)

Last year was Mittelstead’s first on the board. Each year, the committee commissions a local artist to create a new poster and t-shirt design to publicize the fair, and Jay’s wife, Martha Janotta, was the prior year’s featured artist. She works with watercolor and oils, painting still lifes and figurative art.

Along with leading the tours, Mittelstead and Janotta helped develop the themes and the syllabus for the boot camp. There was a booth on-site during the fair where “students” could sign up for tours.

Mittelstead wanted to reach collectors who were just starting out, to help them alleviate their fear of failure. He contends that there are many who would like to buy art, but feel foolish or out of their depth. “If we get one person to go ahead and buy something,” says Mittlestead, “that would be worth it. We want people to learn to spend $100 without feeling foolish. That’s the goal.”

According to Mittelstead, the boot camp participants mirrored the diversity of population that is found in the Hyde Park neighborhood itself. Hyde Park is a rich mix of local culture and high-powered academia—a grand old neighborhood with the famed University of Chicago at its heart.

As you might expect, the couple are collectors themselves. Mittelstead started purchasing some pieces right after college. He and his wife tend to gravitate toward contemporary art. Although they occasionally seek work for their collection in galleries, Mittelstead says, “We don’t like to spend a lot. We like buying from young artists. Art fairs are a great venue, and juried art fairs are even better. You can get some nice things there.”

The boot camp will return to the fair again next year. There are plans to expand its influence with additional publicity.

While many artists might take exception to Mittelstead’s focus on guiding buyers into looking for bargains and deals, the implementation of a program to eliminate barriers that inhibit fair-goers from purchasing work is much to be applauded.