Meet Erin Schuppert: Our New NYC Fair Director

We are thrilled to welcome Erin Schuppert to the Ramsay Fairs team as the Fair Director for the New York editions. With eight years of experience in the New York art market, her previous positions at Menconi & Schoelkopf, Phillips, and Christie’s span finance and operations with specializations across art departments including American art, contemporary art, and antiquities. As Director, Erin applies her passion for operational strategy and accessible art to her vision for the fair.

Read on to learn more about Erin and check out some of the great partners and programming we have in store for the Affordable Art Fair NYC Spring edition just around the corner (March 23 – 27, 2022)!

INTERVIEW WITH ERIN SCHUPPERT

We’re so excited to have you join the team as we celebrate the fair’s 20^th anniversary in NYC! What’s your vision for the future of Affordable Art Fair and what are you most excited about in this new role?

The most exciting aspect of this new director role is that I can marry my experience in the art market with my desire to make it approachable. What I am doing here has sparked curiosity in my own friends and family about the art world or about acquiring works for their homes — it no longer feels out of reach, and they recognize the value in supporting working artists and the arts community. 

My vision for the Affordable Art Fair NYC is to continue to build on the fair’s incredible foundation and reputation for making the art market accessible to all while simultaneously focusing on presenting a beautifully curated event. I love that we get to help New York audiences discover quality, affordable art from local, national, and international exhibitors.

How does your background working across finance and operations with specializations in art departments including American art, contemporary art, and antiquities give you a unique perspective to manage the AAF NYC?

My background offers me the foundation to manage AAF NYC with a holistic approach. From my experience in finance and operations, I am drawing on years of creative problem-solving, budget management, and an eye for detail. Each art department brings its own challenges and rewards and I learned quite a bit from all of my experiences considered as a whole. I have really enjoyed that there has always been something new and fresh about each role I have taken on. What I will bring to AAF is my constant desire to refresh and reinvigorate. 

Tell us a bit about a favorite artwork from your own collection! What’s your style like and what do you look for when collecting?

One recent acquisition that I am a little obsessed with is a letterpress print with colored pencil by Jessica C. White that I purchased from Blue Spiral 1 in Asheville, NC. It’s called Bigger Signs and it’s at once darkly humorous, sweet, and nostalgic.

Another work that I love is the Maria Rivans print, Eliza, that I bought at AAF NYC as a visitor several years ago! I like collage, but what struck me about this work in particular was the subject’s direct and confident gaze. It hangs over my vanity table so in a funny way, when I’m getting ready in the morning, I feel like Eliza is kind of my hype woman.

My style is relatively eclectic because while the two examples above are aesthetically more traditionally feminine, I have works that have harder lines or are more minimalist. I like mixing it all in to balance out the mood of a room. When I am collecting or even spending time with a work of art as a visitor in a museum or gallery, I am really just looking for some kind of immediate gut feeling about it. I find that I either have it or I don’t in the first few seconds of looking at something. That’s why I tend to gravitate toward playful or humorous work, I think because the inherent ethos of the narrative speaks to me.

Are there any new exhibitors or partners that we should look out for this Spring edition?

There are so many things I am really excited about this edition, but I will highlight a few to look out for. First, I cannot wait to see our Young Talent Exhibition, curated by Arts Gowanus. Artist Traci Johnson is creating an installation for the lobby and I know this is going to be such an impactful display right as visitors enter the venue.

Second, we will be partnering with a few old friends and some new faces and they are all incredible! Our nonprofit partner, The Art Therapy Project will be back, as will Brooklyn-based furniture designer Sentient, and tequila seltzer brand Volley. We will also have New Belgium’s Voodoo Ranger beers on hand for our evening events this edition. For Stroller Hours, we are once again partnering with Little Spoon and Lalo. And stay tuned for more…

As for our exhibitors, we are thrilled to be celebrating the 20^th anniversary of AAF NYC and four of our galleries exhibiting in this edition were at the very first New York fair! We can’t thank Linda Blackstone Gallery, Byard Art, Art Movement, and Quantum Contemporary Art enough for their continued support over the years

We can’t wait to welcome you all to our 20th anniversary celebration of Affordable Art Fair NYC (March 23 – 27, 2022) so make sure you have your Advanced Price Tickets and get ready to find your next favorite artist this Spring!