The Seattle Art Fair’s Parent Company Vulcan Is Closing Its Art and Entertainment Division, Throwing the Future of the Fair Into Question

Vulcan, the company founded by the late Microsoft co-founder
Paul Allen, is slimming down—and as a result, the fate of several
important Seattle arts and culture initiatives, including the
Seattle Art Fair, is up in the air. The company announced last week
that it would shutter its Arts + Entertainment division, as well as
its filmmaking arm, Vulcan Productions, by the end of 2020.

“We have made the extremely hard decision to close two divisions
over the next several months as we move to a future that will be
changed in untold ways by the pandemic,” Vulcan said in a
statement.

From the time that the Seattle Art Fair came on the scene in
2015, organizers—with the critical backing of billionaire art
collector Paul Allen—worked hard to cement the fair on the
international calendar and cultivate  collectors in the
Pacific Northwest.

But the one-two punch of Allen’s death in late 2018 compounded
by the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have thrust the future of the
fair, as well as Vulcan’s other arts initiatives, into uncertainty.
In late April, fair organizers announced the cancellation of the
2020 edition, originally scheduled for July 23–26, because of the
crisis.

The fair does not yet have confirmed dates for 2021, according
to a Vulcan spokesperson. “We are going to take some time to see
how this situation evolves and how the art-world calendar starts to
roll out before announcing any plans,” the spokesperson told Artnet
News in response to questions.

Two museums under the Vulcan wing—the Living Computers: Museum +
Labs, where Allen showcased his vintage computer collection, and
the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum, which housed Allen’s
military artifacts—will also remain shuttered indefinitely,
according to the Seattle
Times, as will the Cinerama movie theater, home to the
late billionaire’s film memorabilia collection.

A Vulcan representative declined to specify whether the Seattle
Art Fair might be sold or continue without Vulcan backing. “As
the Vulcan Arts + Entertainment division winds down through the end
of the year, we will be evaluating the long term effect COVID-19
will have on public gatherings and events, as well as how the art
world calendar starts to rollout. Understanding both of these
factors will be crucial before announcing any plans,” the rep
said.

Max Fishko, CEO of fair producer Art Market Productions, which
operates the fair on behalf of Vulcan, struck a more confident
note, telling Artnet News, “We remain totally committed to being a
meaningful part of the Seattle art scene and we look forward to
bringing the fair back in the right way at the right time.”

Although reports of sales in recent years were spotty, veteran
Seattle dealer Greg Kucera, whose eponymous gallery participated in
every edition, said the fair played a major role in boosting the
local scene. “The last couple of years really worked well,” he told
Artnet News. “I’m disappointed personally [about this year’s
cancellation] because it was very good business for us and a very
good rallying point for our artists.”

Kucera said that depending on how things shake out, he and other
local Seattle gallerists might explore an alternative event-driven
format or gallery-share model where out of town galleries come in
to collaborate.

Notably, the Seattle Art Fair itself precedes the formation of
the Arts + Entertainment division, which was formed two years
later, in 2017.

The post The Seattle Art Fair’s Parent Company Vulcan Is
Closing Its Art and Entertainment Division, Throwing the Future of
the Fair Into Question appeared first on artnet
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