Editor's Letter December 2009
I’ve been commissioned by my good friend and architect Marcel Wisznia to curate the greatest collection of emerging artists post-Katrina for the Saratoga building on Loyola Avenue. When this building is complete there will not be one collection of emerging art in New Orleans that rivals the “Saratoga Collection.” It will house over 60 original works of art ranging from site specific to video installations; photography, mixed media, figurative paintings and sculpture. There will also be a book published of this monumental and important collection.
My Chicago connect Anne Mills is hitting the ground running in spreading the ArtVoices manifesto and distributing issues in the Windy City! There will be a significant number of artists from Chicago’s contemporary art scene being featured in our upcoming issues. I’m headed to Miami the first week in December to get my art fix for the year participating in Art Basel as well as PooL Art Fair. Sibley Gallery and artist Jimmy Mac are also participating at PooL Art Fair in hopes of reaching a wider audience and a more educated collector base. I wish them both the best of luck for thinking outside the box to sustain their vision.
It’s beautiful and fulfilling being in Miami during Art Basel and enjoying all the art that’s being exhibited there. I wish New Orleans were more like Art Basel. I also wish and pray that New Orleans art collectors, who are a very important part of the process, would go out and be hands-on instead of frequenting the same galleries and art institutions for the same boring aesthetic. New Orleans, now more than ever, has a tremendous movement of emerging art being created here, and one day these works of art will be considered some of the most important works ever made.
In this issue I listed my “Top 10 New Orleans Artists” of the year. Please look out for their names and collect their work no matter what gallery represents them. Buy art because it speaks to you, not because you think it will one day be worth money. I just gave away three paintings that I purchased because I thought one day they would be valuable. Art is an investment; but it’s also an opportunity and a window into the artist’s soul, which takes us to places we are sometimes too afraid to go. It’s time to break the chains of favoritism and support all the art movements throughout the world. Trust your instincts and go take a closer look at the work.
Best Regards,
Terrence Sanders
Editor in Chief and Publisher
