Tracey Emin, “More Love” 2010
It’s currently 21 degrees in New York and will drop to -3 tonight—cold as hell. On the horizon, our March 15th Spring Break-themed benefit acts as a beacon—a reprieve from the cold and bleak days that winter brings. This year we honor feminist artist and collector Carol Cole. Buy these tickets today—space is limited.
As it turns out, Valentine’s Day is a good excuse to reflect on the ways we can show our love and support. Every day, AFC seeks out and exposes new and under-recognized artists. We respond to the needs of artists, launching events like Stay in New York, the affordable workspace conference, and our new semi-nomadic curatorial platform Fine Art Gallery, which launched this winter in Miami. And we respond to the needs of emerging arts writers who need a platform to be heard.
We do all this because we love and value the cultural workers who make the community we’re a part of so vibrant, but we need your love and support too. This year, AFC received a few Valentine’s Day messages ourselves from board members, grantors and former writers, who each explained why they think AFC is so important to support. If you share these sentiments, buy a ticket to our spring benefit, donate to AFC, and encourage your friends to do the same.
“There are so few critical, independent voices in the arts writing field today. We at Creative Capital look to Paddy and Art F City for fearless arts reporting and advocacy for working artists. What more could you want from your Valentine? Show Art F City some love today!” Ruby Lerner, President & Executive Director Creative Capital
“I found AFC as a college student who wanted to write about art but had no idea how. I Googled “best art blog” and clicked on the first link I found. How lucky I was! Eight years later, AFC continues to set the bar with fearless art criticism and reporting on often-overlooked pockets of the art world, from Baltimore to Mexico. It is the rare art publication with an iron-clad bullshit filter, an allergy to pretension and an honest belief in the power of artists to improve the world. ” Julia Halperin, Deputy Museums Editor, The Art Newspaper
I love AFC because on any day of the week, I can visit their site and discover art that’s new, crazy, funny, sexy, and cool — alongside criticism that’s insightful and incisive. And perhaps more importantly, Paddy Johnson has created a platform that not only brings visibility to all that new art, but cultivates the talents of some of today’s smartest arts writers. Jereme Mongeon AFC Board Member / Digital Strategy Consultant
“I come from a punk/DIY background, writing zines, drawing comics and shooting band photos. I viewed that community as one where everyone was on the same level…some voices were stronger than others, but everyone could engage equally and put their ideas up for discussion, inspiration, and action. The punk scene was better training for me than art school, in a way.
Later, after the internet made everything DIY, I discovered Art Fag City. It reminded me that the only thing we need for our voices to be heard is to stand up and say something…put it out there, engage, participate, no matter what kind of ’culture’ (pop, counter or otherwise) you align yourself with. More than any other reason, passion is the reason we make, analyze, and look at at art, however you define it .. and AFC reminds me of the importance — call it a sense of duty— to share that passion. ‘
Art’ has expanded well beyond the boundaries of what the art world can contain, even while our culture becomes ever more marginalized and consolidated. Independent voices like AFC are few and important, delivering of-the-moment opinions and coverage with irreverence, an expert eye, and an old-school DIY passion for sharing the undiscovered, under-represented, and way-out-there.” Artist and AFC commenter Sean Capone
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