One of New York’s largest art fairs, The Armory Show, has announced that it is launching Armory Access: Curated, a digital exhibition space where independent curators can organize virtual shows.
The art fair begins on 15 April and is titled The Pandemic is a Portal. Works by around 20 artists, including Hank Willis Thomas, Gordon Matta Clark, Firelei Báez, Bruce Conner and Andrea Bowers will be featured in the exhibition. The show will be viewable on the fair’s website, with no ticket or log-in required.
The art fair is being organized by Daniel S. Palmer, who now serves as curator for New York’s Public Art Fund. The exhibition is inspired by an essay by the author Arundhati Roy published last April in the Financial Times considering how the coronavirus pandemic might be viewed as an opportunity to break with the past and imagine a more equitable society.
Javits Center, a convention space where thousands of people are currently being vaccinated daily for the Covid-19 virus, is planned to be the venue for the exhibition. The decision to shift this year’s fair from March to September was announced before the pandemic hit.
The Pandemic is a Portal will be followed by an exhibition curated by César García-Alvarez, founder and director of The Mistake Room in Los Angeles.