Winners of the VIP art fair's MFA edition announced

Recently the VIP art fair announced a new initiative to launch graduating artists in the art market. A panel of six internationally recognised jurors was appointed to select 200 artists from a pool of nominations and open call applications from renowned MFA and equivalent progammes.

The jurors have trawled through the MFA talent pool and selected three artists who will receive the prizes. Susana Perrottet, a Peruvian video artist studying at Schule Fur Gestaltung in Zurich, wins the top honour and a prize of $15,000. In second place is Chris Hood of the San Francisco Art Institute, who will receive $10,000. Third place went to Emanuel Straessle, also studying at the Schule fur Gestaltung. Each of the prizes is to be shared evenly with the students' schools.

"The work was wildly inconsistent " said White Column's Matthew Higgs, one of the six judges. "And I thought it was quite interesting. It didn't seem to subscribe to any kind of hierarchical structure that exists within certain high-profile MFA programmes."

The other jurors were artist Diana Al-Hadid and O Zhang, Kate Fowles (ICI), Jens Hoffman (Wattis Institute) and Joachim Pissaro (Hunter College).

The first generation of artists to emerge in the art market via the internet?

The VIP art fair has announced a new initiative to launch graduating artists in the art market. A panel of six internationally recognised jurors will select 200 artists from a pool of nominations and open call applications from renowned MFA and equivalent progammes. Selected artists will present 5-10 works online at VIP (MFA) from 1-8 June.

The jurors are artist Diana Al-Hadid and O Zhang, Kate Fowles (ICI), Matthew Higgs (White Columns), Jens Hoffman (Wattis Institute) and Joachim Pissaro (Hunter College). They will also award three prizes to outstanding students - $15,000 for first place, $10,000 for second place and $5000 for third place.

VIP Art Fair: pass or fail?

After 10 days of mixed success and technical malfunction, it was difficult to judge whether the world's first virtual art fair in 2011 was a great idea marred by imperfect execution, or a sign that there is no substitute for experiencing art in the flesh in a real art fair. But as a second edition of VIP was scheduled for 2012, it was a case of watch this space.

VIP 2.0 closed recently, so how did it perform?

The statistics look impressive: 73,000 registered users, 160,000 unique visits and 1.5 million pages viewed; 135 galleries from 35 countries, exhibiting 1500 works by 1,100 artists; growth in visitor numbers from emerging markets, including a 278% increase in visitors from India, 288% UAE, 277% Brazil, 319% Mexico and 456% from Chile.

And the technical glitches that dogged VIP 1.0 were ironed out this time, allowing the Internet platform to deliver a lot more traffic to the fair, but traffic doesn't equal sales and sales reports have been scarce. Whether dealers make money at VIP remains to be seen.

However, insiders believe VIP has secured its status as the leading online platform for contemporary art. CEO Lisa Kennedy said the fair was effective in making connections and providing stimulus that is vital to an active international market, a view shared by many galleries who said they connected with new clients around the globe.

Predictably, VIP 2.0 drew flak and much has been made of comments from influential dealers, like David Zwirner. In her Forbes piece, VIP Bombs Again: A Lesson Art Marketing and Online Sales, Abigail Esman reports Zwirner emailed her saying: "The fair was unfortunately a waste of time for us this year. We didn't have any significant traffic in the booth, nor did we meet new collectors. I'm uncertain this format will work moving forward."

Other galleries have a better view of VIP, notably those that took an innovative approach to curating their booths. Elizabeth Dee used VIP's video capability to connect viewers with her artists directly and to launch a new media channel. Each artist was featured in short documentaries that offered VIP visitors an introduction or overview of their work. And rather than making a presentation with a unique selling point, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac decided to focus on introducing its artists and programme, presenting 7 solo shows over 7 days and one live performance by Terence Koh. On the day of Koh's performance, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac was the most visited booth.

So the jury is still out on VIP and the big question remains unanswered: can the Internet work as a venue for an art fair? For galleries seeking conventional outcomes (like art fair sales) the answer is perhaps not. As one dealer said: "If you realise that taking part in this fair is the same cost as a big ad in Artforum it makes sense, but if you are expecting sales, I think some people are going to be quite disappointed."

Online ventures like VIP seem better suited to galleries able to think their way into a new format, presenting shows tailored to the Internet and underpinned by audience and client building strategies that are part of a bigger game plan - galleries like Elizabeth Dee and Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac.

ARTINFO reports on the VIP art fair

ARTINFO reports on what what collectors, dealers and artists are saying about the VIP art fair. Read more...

VIP Art Fair update

ARTINFO reports on the VIP Art Fair's new programming and enhanced interaction opportunities.

VIP launches three new on-line art fairs

VIP has announced three new online fairs - VIP Photo, Paper and Vernissage - to take place later this year following the flagship VIP 2.0 fair which runs from 3 - 8 February. The new fairs will allow VIP to "showcase a wider range of works at a variety of price points" and "help the VIP brand solidify its position as the leader in online art sales," VIP CEO Lisa Kennedy said in a statement.

The new platforms have been financed by a $1m injection from a pair of art collectors: Brazilian Selmo Nissenbaum, partner in Personale Investimentos, and Australian Philip Keir, media and arts specialist and founder of NextMedia.

Given the technical glitches that dogged the inaugural edition of VIP the move to expand the franchise seems surprising, but co-founder Jane Cohan says one impetus for seeking backers was to allow them to re-architect their site and build a new tech team which includes internet retail specialist Kennedy and former artnet sales director Liz Parks. "The space for the contemporary art online is only just beginning to take shape," says Cohen. "The impetus to further develop the event, its capacity and its reach is ongoing."

Internet retail specialist hired as CEO of VIP Art Fair

Internet retail specialist Lisa Kennedy has been hired by the VIP Art Fair as its first CEO. Kennedy has no previous art experience, but art fair founder Jane Cohan says "she has a tremendous record for building consumer-driven companies." ARTINFO reports that in addition to streamlining and improving the web product, Kennedy will work to expand the fair to take place multiple times a year.

Kennedy's appointment follows news that rival e-commerce initiative Paddle8 is teaming up with the NADA art fair to provide an online platform for interactions with galleries.

Collecting by clicking

The VIP Art Fair is gearing up to return in 2012 with the jury still out on whether the first edition of the world's first virtual art fair was a great idea marred by imperfect execution, or a sign that there is no substitute for experiencing art in the flesh in a real art fair.

After 10 days of mixed success and technical malfunction, the 2011 VIP Art Fair closed with, as fair organiser James Cohan put it, "some very sore feelings". The VIP organisers offered 50% refunds to participants and allowed galleries to continue maintaining their virtual online booths for months after the official close of the event. But Cohan also believed the first fair was "a big success" and referred to the website as an "enormous resource" - one that was not to be dismantled at the end of the fair but that galleries will use on an ongoing basis. [This initiative has been put on the back burner.]

In the lead up to VIP1, Jane Cohen said the fair's success would be measured against the traffic generated by other international art fairs. Because users would have to register with the site to enter the fair, she said, the VIP Art Fair would have accurate numbers. The final count was 41,000 registered users - pretty good, but not a spectacular result for a fair that could be attended by people dressed in their pyjamas. Most of the major fairs claim 60,000 or more attendees for their events.

However, galleries are signing up for the second edition which will take place in February 2012. One intriguing feature of VIP2 is a virtual Museum and Edition Hall where international museums will sell editions. Cohan is reported as saying the Serpentine Gallery, Whitechapel Gallery and Parkett magazine are already on board.

Does the VIP Art Fair have a future?

After 10 days of mixed success and technical malfunction, the VIP Art Fair closed with, as fair organiser James Cohan put it, "some very sore feelings". But he also believed the first fair was "a big success" and referred to the website as an "enormous resource" - one that was not to be dismantled at the end of the fair but that galleries will use on an ongoing basis (the details of which are yet to be confirmed). 

In the lead up to VIP, Jane Cohen said the fair's success would be measured against the traffic generated by other international art fairs. Because users would have to register with the site to enter the fair, she said, the VIP Art Fair would have accurate numbers. The final count was 41,000 registered users - pretty good, but not a spectacular result for a fair that could be attended by people dressed in their pyjamas. Both Frieze and the Armory Show claim 60,000 attendees for their 2010 events and Art Basel topped the head count with 62,500. 

Participating dealers would have had other measures in mind, like sales, but only a few galleries have reported sales outcomes. You can read Art Market Monitor's VIP sales round-up here.

It's difficult to judge whether the world's first virtual art fair was a great idea marred by imperfect execution, or a sign that there is no substitute for experiencing art in the flesh in a real art fair. But a second edition of VIP has been scheduled for 2012, so it's a case of watch this space.

VIP Art Fair draws fire

Reports are beginning to circulate on the VIP Art Fair. This link takes you to the latest Bloomberg article World's first online art fair draws fire as top works go unsold. 

Image: in front of Pierre Huyghe's Untitled (2010) at Marian Goodman at the VIP Art Fair

VIP Art Fair opens today

The VIP Art Fair opened today at 8.00 a.m. EST and closes on 30 January at 7.59 a.m. EST. You can browse the fair for free, but to access the interactive capabilities visitors must have a VIP ticket which on 22 & 23 January costs $100 and thereafter $20. You can register here to browse or purchase a VIP ticket.

VIEWING IN PRIVATE Art Fair

This link takes you to a video update on VIEWING IN PRIVATE (VIP) the new international art fair being conducted exclusively online. 

The design of VIP allows art collectors to view artwork online in relation to other works and in relative scale to the human figure. Visitors can zoom in to examine details of a painting's surface, get multiple views of a three -dimensional work, and watch videos of a multi-media piece. Another feature is the interactivity between dealer and collector. Each dealer has the ability to hold conversations with collectors via instant messaging and Skype. Dealers can also provide access to their back room inventory, sharing works in real time with clients in specially created private rooms on the client's computer screen.

The fair opens on Saturday 22 January 2011 at 8.00 a.m. EST and closes on Sunday 30 January at 7.59 a.m. EST. Browsing the Fair is free of charge but visitors must have a VIP ticket to access interactive capabilities.

James Cohan on his new online VIP art fair

In this interview, James Cohan speaks to Sarah Douglas about his new online VIP art fair. You can see our earlier post on VIP here.

Going virtual: are traditional art fairs history?

VIP Art Fair, the first fair to mobilise the collective force of many of the world's leading galleries with the unlimited reach of the the Internet, will take place exclusively online in January 2011 at www.vipartfair.com. VIP Founding galleries include Sadie Coles, Xavier Hufkens, Gagosian, David Zwirner, Hauser & Worth, Anna Schwartz and White Cube.  

The design of VIP allows art collectors to view artwork online in relation to other works and in relative scale to the human figure. Visitors can zoom in to examine details of a painting's surface, get multiple views of a three -dimensional work, and watch videos of a multi-media piece. 

Another feature is the interactivity between dealer and collector. Each dealer has the ability to hold conversations with collectors via instant messaging and Skype. Dealers can also provide access to their back room inventory, sharing works in real time with clients in specially created private rooms on the client's computer screen.

The fair opens on Saturday 22 January 2011 at 8.00 a.m. EST and closes on Sunday 30 January at 7.59 a.m. EST. Browsing the Fair is free of charge but visitors must have a VIP ticket to access interactive capabilities.