A REIMAGINED ART FAIR DEBUTS IN NORTH ADAMS
The Arrival of Arrival
From left, Crystalle Lacouture, Sarah Galender Meyer, and Yng-Ru Chen— high-end art fair veterans— will be bringing the art world to Tourists in North Adams this June.
A REIMAGINED ART FAIR DEBUTS IN NORTH ADAMS
B y
L i a m G o r m a n
Art Basel, The Armory, Frieze, and Setouchi might be names some readers haven’ t heard of before. For the art world, though, they are among the top international contemporary and modern art fairs for collectors, curators, gallerists, and artists alike. They are also places where the art community congregates to network with old friends, make new connections, see new work from emerging artists— and hopefully make some transactions.
From June 13 to 15, the Berkshires will be home to Arrival Art Fair at Tourists hotel in North Adams. Billed as“ an antidote to the frenetic pace of the art fair circuit,” the founders hope to create a biennial invitational event that is organic, curated, intimate, and community-based.
“ The inspiration was doing something in a beautiful setting, where the knowledge of art is extremely strong, and that is exactly what Berkshire County is,” says artist Crystalle Lacouture, curator of Tourists. Her husband is one of the founders of Tourists, while she is one of the three founders of Arrival.
Several years ago, Lacouture and Arrival co-founders Yng-Ru Chen and Sarah Galender Meyer were at an art fair in California when the inspiration struck.“ We ' re all very familiar with the art fair circuit, and this particular fair wasn ' t the most dynamic or exciting,” says Lacouture.“ So, we sort of started talking about the Berkshires, a beloved place to myself and Yng, who went to Williams. Sarah is from Upstate New York. We knew that the Berkshires was rural, beautiful, and rich with museums and culture. So, we started noodling.”
More than two years later, their noodling has resulted in what will be a temporary transformation of Tourists into an art fair displaying contemporary art from across the country. The rooms and continuous deck spaces will be taken over by more than 30 galleries that have been selected by the founders.
For Chen, who owns a gallery in Boston, bringing an event like this to the Berkshires was a great homecoming and a way to tweak the art fair model. Well-known art fairs can be cost prohibitive to less-established gallerists and artists— between huge booth fees, shipping, travel and accommodations, the price can quickly rise to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“ One of the beauties of doing this at Tourists is that the exhibitors can stay in the room, which is very comfortable and a prime destination,” says Chen.
The galleries inhabit the rooms for five nights, and the booth fees vary depending on the room. A big difference with other art fairs is how exhibitors were chosen. Typically, anyone willing to pay an application fee can apply to be a part of an art fair— and hope to be accepted. The Arrival
82 // BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE May / June 2025