SOHO — A group of photographers are selling their prints for $100 at a new Affordable Photography Fair, in an attempt to make their work more available to the public.
The sale features work from 24 artists, who are all members of the Soho Photo Gallery, a non-profit co-op founded by a group of New York Times photographers. Bob Leonard, the fair’s coordinator, said this is the group’s first attempt to sell lower-priced photographs at the gallery.
“The key thing is to be able to make this work more accessible,” Leonard said. “By pricing it reasonably, it allows people to start forming a collection.”
The event is part of the 18th annual TriBeCa Open Artist Studio Tour (TOAST), which runs through Monday. Currently, the members of Soho Photo Gallery are only able to sell their work when they have shows at the gallery, so the fair gives the artists a chance to earn extra income as well.
Leonard said he hopes to continue to offer photos at $100 twice annually, with another fair before the winter holidays, and one to coincide with TOAST next year as well. He added that this first fair has significantly increased gallery traffic. Leonard estimated there were over 100 visitors Saturday alone.
“Usually we can count on two hands the number of people who come into the gallery,” he said, explaining that Soho Photo’s location at 15 White Street is far from the center of Manhattan’s gallery scene.
“We’re not in Chelsea, so we have to do things to get people to know us,” he said.
The Affordable Photography Fair continues through Monday, with $100 prints for sale from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Soho Photo Gallery.
