last night I finally sent out the first follow-up email to all the participating artists from the ‘Works on Paper Benefit Bazaar‘ that was held at Flux Factory on 20 May earlier this year. the email was drafted by Ellen, touched up by Kerry, then finally touched up by me before being sent out.

this exhibition was an eye-opener, and in a lot of ways still is: it’s still a lot of work. i’m still handling emails from artists, now i’m getting 2-3 invites a week from artists who were in the show, and there’s still lots of paperwork to follow up with.

most troubling has been the notion of perception about the show. Flux Factory is a not-for-profit, completely volunteer ran. Yes we get grant funding and have access to other 501(c)(3) resources, but it’s not like we get paid, or can even buy meals for ourselves, much less our materials and countless exhausting hours putting on some of the best exhibitions in town. Some artists have this perception that we are there to serve them, or that we have a billion-dollar benefactor and should be able to afford to do all the work that needs to be done.

on the contrary: most of us work full-time jobs outside of our initiatives at Flux Factory. and in NYC, most people know that ‘part-time’ usually equates to ’30 to 40′ hours a week. on top of that, most of us are practicing artists, also. We have families and health problems and get stuck on the train, just like y’all. Seven weeks after the closing of the show might seem like a long time, especially when you compare it to the three-week invasion-occupation of Iraq in 2003, but I think it’s pretty reasonable. You can rest assured we will eventually get the work done, because we want to do the work, but it all takes time. Had we a form-letter ready right after the closing, and sent it out, I wouldn’t be pleased with that. That would be hyper-institutional. Instead, we got on with our lives and did the work at our earliest collective availability, and wrote the letter in the context of the show.

most satisfactory has been the joy of communication revolving around this show. I got to contact so many people, look at so many websites, get to flip through so many resumés, and then finally meet and greet so many artists on the night of the opening. like i mentioned before, lots of artists are still getting in touch with me, which is both a blessing and a burden. ultimately, it’s a blessing. if it wasn’t, i wouldn’t be planning my next project.