516 ARTS in Albuquerque is supporting Debtfair as part of its upcoming exhibition:

“Currency” November 17, 2018 – January 26, 2019

New Mexico Artists: to apply:

http://www.516arts.org/index.php/opportunities/debtfair

Debtfair is an ongoing artistic campaign to expose the relationship between economic inequality in the art market and artists’ growing debt burdens. Occupy Museums and 516 ARTS invite New Mexico-based artists to collectively exhibit their artwork within the context of their economic realities. Visual artists of all backgrounds are encouraged to participate.

Artists’ profiles will be collected through an open call process [click here to begin your submission], which includes a questionnaire about artists’ economic lives. All artists’ profiles will be displayed digitally within the exhibition and on debtfair.org. In addition, a group of artists with shared conditions will be selected for physical display at 516 ARTS. The final installation will be exhibited at 516 ARTS as part of a larger exhibition entitled Currency on view November 17, 2018 through January 26, 2019. 

Artworks selected for physical display in Debtfair will be for sale, but not in the normal way that art is sold. Mirroring the way debts are sold and traded, artworks in Debtfair will be sold in “bundles”—groups of artworks representing shared conditions among their makers. Proceeds will be shared among the participating artists. Through this exchange, Debtfair connects private debts and the aspirational art market.

Being in debt often elicits feelings of shame and social isolation. Debtfair begins with the premise that nearly everyone in our society carries personal debt; therefore, debt can also unite us. If we highlight the hidden layers of artists’ lives, debt can prove to be an empowering medium. 

Please contact  info@516arts.org with any questions.