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by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
Remember the days
when commerce meant trading a pig for a bushel of corn?
Bartering is making a comeback in Springfield, where
artists are using the concept to support the local arts
community. Dubbed The Art and Bills Concept, the idea is to
have a sizable art show linking the price of an artist’s
work with their expenses.
Here’s an example of how it
works: an artist tags their work with a parenthetical
reference to the bill the purchase will pay for, say car
repairs. The purpose is to underscore the obstacles —
financial and otherwise — artists must overcome to survive.
There is no price cap on works for sale.
“The show is
illustrating what we are working towards,” said Tony
Allegretti, director of marketing at Theatre Jacksonville
and executive director of Springfield Arts & Living
magazine.
“We wanted to demonstrate what the money is
going to and how it helps someone who’s struggling.”
As
one of its founders, Allegretti wants Art and Bills to be a
recurring event for emerging artists. To ensure as many
participants are included as possible, entries are limited
to two per artist. The deadline for submissions is Saturday
with selections to be made by July 20. The event is
scheduled for Aug. 3 from noon to 6 p.m. at a yet-to-be
determined location in Springfield.
Allegretti became
involved during a Springfield Preservation and Restoration
home tour where several pieces of art were sold. The
experience gave him the confidence to help other artists.
“A lot of these guys work two jobs and have kids,” he
said. “All over town they produce semi-professional art. I
think it will help the city culturally to see these things.”
Artists selected for the show will have full discretion
in terms of pricing their work. Large pieces may go towards
paying down a mortgage, while smaller pieces may be used for
art supplies, groceries or day care services. Those
participating will be charged a commission by Springfield
Arts & Living, a new not-for-profit quarterly magazine
which supports the performing and visual arts community. The
first issue premiered this summer and contains a cultural
calendar, resources to find non-profit agencies and stories
about Springfield. The magazine will also strive to
introduce educational programs to youngsters to supplement
current public school art programs.
“Art and Bills is
sort of a way to strengthen the bridge between patrons and
artists,” said Allegretti. “There’s art sold in town but
it’s mostly high-end stuff only the upper echelon can
afford. We have so many artist friends trying to get work
out but there’s not many small or non-profit galleries
around. We wanted to create a landscape where artists can
make work available and affordable.”
The group’s mission
is to house, host, produce and promote artistic events to
increase the benefactor pool and make the arts accessible to
everyone.
Operated from the live/work loft complex at
1951 Market Street, SAL’s organizers intend to schedule a
program of summer events. A bazaar featuring a national
recording artist, a theater and a tiki bar are some of the
ideas being discussed. Separately, a performance piece is
scheduled for December.
Its headquarters off 10th Street
will be converted into a gallery with semi-permanent
collections of a few local and regional artists. The gallery
will be more in line with typical galleries and holdngs that rotate every six to eight weeks.
“1951 is
where we’re running the shows out of,” said Allegretti. “The
environment is a historic, distressed neighborhood. There is
an abundance of square footage and we’re always looking to
renovate. We are piggy-backing on [Springfield] development.
We bring them [property owners] cool people and they bring
us cool spaces.”
The modular show is in the process of
presenting gallery works online. If the Art and Bills
concept gallery proves successful, the organizers will
present the idea more often.
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