stARTup Art Fair’s Los Angeles debut will commence on Friday, January 29, at 12PM PDT, and will run through Sunday, January 31 at 7PM PDT. Fair visitors are invited to come and tour the transformed rooms and discover the work of contemporary artists from across the United States. The boutique Highland Gardens Hotel rooms will be occupied by exhibiting artists, several small collectives and the fair’s exhibiting partners, offering viewers an intimate experience with the artwork and direct access to the artists.

Explore the Rooms: Art enthusiasts are encouraged to explore the hotel grounds and rooms of stARTup Art Fair’s 50+ exhibiting artists and can expect to see a vast range of artists working in varying mediums and styles. Arturo Herrera’s artwork (Room 224) investigates issues surrounding sexual self-awareness and the process of speaking about it. His room will display photographic series along with plaster sculptures resembling a large banana, lollipop and an ice cream cone.  Aoki (Room 118) combines visual and performance art with her cheeky faux museum installation, The Gwen Stefani Grand Burial Exhibition, replete with audio tour, artifacts and institutional labeling that imagines a future where we look back on a pop icon and the fall of her “tragic kingdom.”

Meet stARTup’s Exhibiting Partners: stARTup Art Fair is pleased to collaborate with four exhibiting partners. Each will be representing a wide range of work and artists at the fair. The Torrance Art Museum encourages all people to develop and increase their understanding and appreciation for modern and contemporary artwork and will present video works by Tom Dunn in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Lounge (Room 235). 18th Street Arts Center helps contemporary artists from around the globe to create new work within a supportive environment and will feature works by photographer Luciana Abait (Room 227).

Experience Special Projects: In addition to hotel room exhibitors, A. Moret, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Installation Magazine, will curate the Highland Gardens Hotel grounds and amplify the outdoor experience of stARTup Art Fair. She has chosen a select group of artists for Special Projects, which includes: 7×7, Bronwyn Lundberg, Chris Niemi, Michelle Carla Handel, Daniel Rolnik, Emmett Methven, Lluy Rodrigues, Quam Odunsi, Sara Clarken and The Current Sea.

Listen and Discuss: stARTup Art Fair invites its patrons to explore contemporary art ideas with a number of Art Conversations and tours. Selection Committee member, independent curator and advisor, Christine Duval will lead a docent-style, guided room tour of the fair on Friday, January 29 at 4PM.

Maurizzio Pineda (TAM Assistant Curator) will moderate The Art of Shaking Hands, with panelists: Max Presneill (artist, Director and Head Curator, TAM), Maryam Parsi (Director and Collection Manager, Hooper Projects) and Walter Maciel (Owner, Walter Maciel Gallery). This discussion will focus on professional development for emerging artists. Art Conversation, Women in Art: Pop-Culture, Collaboration and Collecting, will be moderated by Nathaly Charria (Independent Curator and Art Consultant), featuring panelists: Nicole Ehrlich (Producer, Board of Brooklyn Museum’s Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art), Susan Hancock (Collector), Michelle Papillion (PAPILLION, Los Angeles) and Lexing Zhang (ART LEXÏNG, Miami).

See image: Kathy Aoki, Votive Mummy X-ray, pigment print, 18 x 12 in., 2012

Peter Mays (Executive Director, Los Angeles Art Association) will host Art Critic Roundtable, a convening of esteemed art writers Megan Frances Abrahams (Fabrik, art ltd., Art Pulse, White Hot) and Shana Nys Dambrot (WhiteHot, LA Weekly, Flaunt, Huffington Post, art ltd.). This panel will explore the current state of contemporary art, the role of the art critic and art writing, and offers insights into upcoming trends and the issues confronting artists. One of stARTup Art Fair’s Co-Founders, Ray Beldner, will moderate Getting Started: How to Build an Art Collection with No Experience, Little Money, and Even Less Time, with panelists: Paige Wery (Owner, Good Luck Gallery, Los Angeles), Anna Hygelund (Specialist-Contemporary Art, Paddle8), Lee Biolos (LA-based art collector) and Elizabeth Yochim (ASA, Senior Accredited Appraiser and Principle of YOCHIM ARTS, Fine Art Appraisal + Consultancy). These industry professionals will demystify the process of collecting art by exploring strategies for getting involved with the art world.

VIP Admission
Tickets to the opening gala on Friday, January 29 from 7-10pm are $125.00. Visit the website to purchase tickets.

General Admission
Fri, Jan 29 at 12pm – Sun, Jan 31 at 7pm
$15.00 USD – Regular General Admission Ticket (from Nov 1 -Jan 31, 2016) $20 at door
$10.00 USD – Regular Student/Senior Ticket with I.D. (from Nov 1 – Jan 31, 2016) $15 at door.
$30.00 USD – Regular Three Day General Admission Pass (from Nov 1 – Jan 29, 2016) $40 at door

What: startUp Art Fair
Where: Highland Gardens Hotel, 7047 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles, CA
When: Friday, January 29 noon to 6pm (opening gala runs from 7-10pm) Saturday January 30 – Noon to 9pm; Sunday January 31 Noon to 7:00pm.
Website: http://www.startupartfair.com