filter_list Showing 3 results for "William Powhida" close Clear
dashboard All 3 museum exhibitions 2trending_up market 1
date_range Range Today This Week This Month All
Subscribe

‘Free art, with strings attached’: Zero Art Fair’s first edition in New York City puts a new spin on the old fair format

Zero Art Fair held its first New York City edition at the Flag Art Foundation, offering artworks for free under a novel contract system. Instead of paying upfront, collectors took home 179 works valued at $537,500 by presenting a paper card, with artists retaining certain rights. The fair, co-founded by artists William Powhida and Jennifer Dalton, involved over 300 applicants and 90 participating artists, with costs underwritten by Flag Art Foundation and Gagosian.

zero art fair new york free art 2665995

The Zero Art Fair, running through Saturday at the Flag Art Foundation in Chelsea, New York, offers visitors the unusual option of taking artworks home for free. Co-founded by artists Jennifer Dalton and William Powhida, the fair operates on a model where buyers can either purchase a piece outright or acquire it at no cost, with the condition that their name appears on a public registry and they agree to lend the work for exhibitions. If no paying buyer emerges after five years, the free acquirer keeps the work permanently. The fair's first edition took place during Upstate Art Week in a Hudson Valley barn, and this second edition is supported by sponsors including collector Glenn Fuhrman's Flag Art Foundation and Gagosian gallery.

Zero Art Fair Isn’t Selling Art—It’s Giving It Away, With Just a Few Caveats

Zero Art Fair, debuting its second edition at the FLAG Art Foundation in New York City from July 10 to 12, offers a radical alternative to traditional art fairs: attendees can take home selected artworks for free. The fair uses a "store-to-own" contract developed by artist William Powhida, NYU professor Amy Whitaker, and artist-attorney Alfred Steiner. Participants commit to a five-year vesting period before ownership transfers, during which artists retain rights to sell or borrow the work. After transfer, artists receive 50 percent of any sale price and a 10 percent royalty on subsequent resales. The fair was conceived by Powhida and artist Jennifer Dalton, rooted in their experiences with unsold work and structural gaps in the art market.