founders thought their relationships in the art world might help create a more curated, organic event. And so, the idea of“ curatorial ambassadors” was born.
“ We started talking to our curator friends, a lot of whom graduated from Williams, and they are the ones who make up the bulk of our curatorial ambassadors,” says Galendar Meyer, who manages private collections for clients in California’ s Bay Area. She met Chen while studying Arts Administration during graduate school at Columbia University.
The curatorial ambassadors included museum leaders, curators, and art historians tasked with nominating several galleries they thought would be a good fit for the Berkshire fair. The founders then chose from the nominees to curate the list further.
" The idea was to have them lend their expertise,” adds Chen. " They ' re really seeing what ' s happening in the galleries and with artists in a non-transactional way. It ' s kind of a very nice entry point into contemporary artists and what ' s happening right now."
“ I thought it was a great idea, and I was happy to help,” says Dan Byers, Arrival curatorial ambassador who recently left Harvard Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts to be curator of modern and contemporary art at Williams College Museum of Art( WCMA). He is excited by the location.“ The beautiful and unique architecture of Tourists might create a different kind of environment than a cold convention center booth with fluorescent lighting,” Byers says.“ These are warm spaces. They ' re elegant spaces. You ' ve got beds and bathrooms and more charged spaces which have a little bit more personality. You can be a bit more playful.”
The galleries exhibiting in the show come from all over, some relatively local— Wassaic, Kinderhook, Millerton— but also Cleveland, Minneapolis, Detroit, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
“ Art fairs are the opposite of rejuvenating. They make withdrawals from your physical, mental, spiritual kind of bank account. But they’ re important,” says Charlie James, a Los Angeles-based gallery owner who has expanded his business through the many exhausting art fairs he’ s been a part of.
James will bring art from the West Coast, hoping to make connections with collectors
and curators he might otherwise not come across elsewhere.“ There ' s a whole network of curators there in New England. I know some of them, but I could obviously know more of them. Another thing is, I want to have a nice time out there. I want to relax in the deciduous canopy.”
He certainly won’ t be disappointed when he arrives in the Berkshires, with its mix of rolling hills, deep forests, and a serene natural environment. The beauty of the region will be on full display, as will the beauty presented by local artists, some of whom will be hosting open studios during the weekend. Willie Binnie, a Texas-born artist and professor at Williams, is looking forward to welcoming the crowd of art enthusiasts to his studio space in Hancock.“ The goal and the dream is to get as many eyes on your work as possible— especially when you live in a small, tight-knit community, you don ' t always have that opportunity. So it ' s really exciting to have a lot of people from a wide geographical area come see your work.”
For the founders, the art is important, as is the community. The weekend of Arrival also happens to coincide with Williams College Alumni Weekend, and one of the booths will be dedicated to previewing the new space WCMA is in the midst of building with the prestigious SO-IL architecture firm.
“ We care a lot about North Adams,” says Lacouture.“ The economy is really event-based. You have part-time workers who work festivals at MASS MoCA— so all of that stuff is already built in there. It ' s a town that ' s so good at doing these popup events, and Tourists is always a great collaborator.”
The fair will be free for anyone who wants to stop by to discover new art and help give Arrival a big start. n
Arrival Art Fair, June 13-15( VIP preview June 12), Tourists hotel, 915 State Rd., North Adams. Admission is free to the public; registration is required. Go to arrival. art for more information and to register.
Tourists hotel will be transformed into an art fair utilizing both indoor and outdoor spaces for artists to put their talents on display.
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May / June 2025 BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE // 83