By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN WEST — Would-be art collectors with a desire to buy that first painting, but a budget that stops at five figures are in luck this week, as New York plays host to its ninth annual Affordable Art Fair.
The fair, held at 7 West 34th St., runs this weekend before closing at 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 9. Prices for paintings, sculptures and other works range from $100 to $10,000.
"The worldwide mission really is to bring art, make it fun, make it welcoming and bring in people from all walks of life, but also have the quality of art that a collector or a museum-goer would be interested in," said director Judith Pineiro.
The fair, founded in London in 1999, spotlights work from 75 galleries across five continents.
Izabella Kay, a Polish artist and founder of art consultancy organization Vernissage London, said she values the fair because it brings so many new faces into the market.
"There was a fear in the past that art really should be purchased only by people who are huge collectors, and therefore it should be really expensive,” she said. "For a very young couple, I’ve found that very often this is where they start their art collection."
In addition to helping young collectors to enter the market, the fair gives exposure to new artists hoping to make sales or attract the attention of a gallery owner.
"If you are an emerging artist and you’re not in a gallery, where do you sell your work?" said Amy Digi, an exhibitor for the Art Students League of New York who often sells her work on the street. "If you’re not on the street, and you don’t have your own network and your own connections, this is a great space to do it."
Through 2010, the fair will also host events in Melbourne, Bristol, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Sydney, Singapore and Milan.
