Democratizing Art: Southside Contemporary’s Mission at the Affordable Art Fair NYC
by Maria Snell-Feikema
For any local art gallery, expansion is exposure- being seen by more eyes, and beginning new relationships. In their continued growth, Southside Contemporary Art Gallery (SCAG) has widened their reach by participating in the most recent Affordable Art Fair (AAF)- NYC Fall edition.
Since its opening in 2023, SCAG has maintained the ethos of accessibility. Similarly, as an organization, AAF’s goal is to “democratize the art world and make art accessible to all”. This parallel offers a stepping stone for SCAG that still maintains the core of who they are. Fairs are held in fifteen cities internationally, creating spaces across the world for a wider range of people to collect art and participate in the art world. The fairs showcase a diverse selection of artists from a global locale. At AAF NYC, SCAG presented works by artists Huey Lightbody, Dathan Kane and Coppere Ford. SCAG’s presence at the fair represented a significant move forward for the gallery. “A moment that let us know we are progressing on the right path and making some of the needed moves to succeed as the gallery we envision ourselves as,” says SCAG’s lead curator Ra-Twoine “Rosetta” Fields, “Having that nod of approval, attention, but also just affirmation and support, that felt really warming.”
A visitor views Coppere Ford’s “Ohblivious Utopias” at Southside Contemporary Arts Gallery in Richmond, Va.
The gallery’s artists of choice have all displayed work at SCAG in the past. With works ranging from varying abstraction to collage, the trio of artists showcases the gallery’s broad scope of subject and style, while maintaining a thread of artists exploring historical narrative, post-modern thought, shadow work, and self-actualization. Coppere Ford’s collagework, which was included in AAF NYC’s Director Erin Schubbert’s “Fair Director’s Picks”, is currently on display at SCAG, and has been extended to show through October 18th. His simultaneous participation in AAF NYC and his debut solo exhibition, titled “Oblivious Utopias”, acted as another bridge connecting Richmond and NYC outside of the fair.
Being their second art fair in attendance, the fair demonstrated SCAG’s extension reaching through VA as a gravitational point. But it goes beyond that- the fair placed SCAG among galleries, gallerists, curators, and collectors existing in a global setting. Works at AAF NYC are capped at $12,000, with “contemporary work by over 400 established artists and rising stars”. Each of SCAG’s selected artists sold at least one original work. Outside of commercial sales, value was mainly recognized through the engagement and new relationships formulated at the fair. SCAG left the fair with an invitation to next fall’s fair, as well as inclusion in ”Your Guide to the Best Galleries at Affordable Art Fair NYC”, written by fair partner Kendall Warson, founder of Cohart.
Having a stand at an art fair not only offers a space for selling work, but also a space for creating connections. The New York City setting of AAF NYC allowed the gallery a foot in the door of one of the art meccas of the world. Gushing with artists, collectors, gallerists, and the like, New York City has a deep history within the art world and continues to be one of the predominant spaces of growth for aspiring artists. The sheer quantity of art coming in and out of the city widens the perspective of those living and travelling through the city, creating what Rosetta says is an atmosphere of “intentionality”.
In that vein, one of the highlights of the trip for Rosetta was to see painter Huey Lightbody “get just due” in a city so dedicated to the arts. Lightbody is a represented artist at SCAG, and has been working alongside them since their beginnings. For him to gain affirmation at an art fair like AAF NYC is a dream come true- “to have those people recognize him and say ‘Hey we see you, this community is wide, is deep’ and accepting all of us into it, people exchanging instagrams, contacts, numbers, emails, that energy felt so tangible,” says Rosetta, “It's not this conceptual thing where we have to figure out this whimsical, mystical art world, no- we’re people, we’re doing work here, and we like what y'all are doing, how can we come together?”
Images (left to right): Dr. Tiffany E. Barber, Huey Lightbody, Richard Beavers, Rosetta
SCAG’s movement towards participation in an art fair wasn’t an easy one. While they were accepted into SCOPE in Art Basel Miami 2024, the gallery was unable to afford booth fees. While having the quality of artists and work, money still plays a huge factor in how art is circulated, and therefore greatly impacts how galleries are able to expand and succeed. This further illustrates the gravity of SCAG’s presence at AAF NYC. In continuing motion, the gallery plans on participation in next year’s AAF NYC as well, and is planning on applying to several other art fairs in 2026. Waitlisted at NADA Art Basel Miami 2025, already there’s potential participation in another prominent art fair and potential for growth in the art world.
“People might think these are small moments, but these are the moments that we dreamed about,” says Rosetta, “When it happens, you get these chills… and then to have a team that I can share it with, it’s almost like bringing a trophy home. We might not have all been there, but all this work that we do gets us to these points. It felt amazing, it felt really good.”
SCAG’s ethos of accessibility has been maintained as part of the bedrock of their gallery. Being in an area where so many people are interested in the arts, providing diverse price points can increase the amount of people likely to purchase. Lightbody notes that this intentionality found in NYC “opens the door”, even for travelling artists and collectors, and that this door can be opened even wider when the art is made affordable, “because affordable- it doesn’t necessarily mean cheap or undervalued… I think it just creates an opportunity for those interested in collection to open the door into that.” Affordability allows a wider range of people to practice art collection and stewardship. Both processes can help to foster relationships with artists, galleries, institutions and personal groups. The more people are given the opportunity to collect, the wider the artists are allowed to expand. These relationships are how art is shared, and because of this, Lightbody notes that the art world cannot just be denoted to artists alone. Artists need support.
“It’s more than just the artists, it’s the people who support and engage with the artist,” says Lightbody, “That’s all a part of the artistic journey- how artists are supported and engaged with, and encouraging that engagement.”
Accessibility also impacts who is given the chance to own and assign meaning to the work, and the breadth of relationships that can be fostered. Partner of SCAG, Deron Hogans, argues that those “who own the art, own the meaning”, and that “the more accessible we can make art, the better we can ensure the meaning of the work is maintained in a real way, and that's very important these days.”
The encouragement of a more democratized relationship between buyer and artist doesn’t decenter the monetary factor in that it’s deemed an unimportant aspect of the artist’s life, it means that the artist has a greater opportunity to sell and to share, as selling is a means of sharing. Hogans’ first purchase came through SCAG, and he says that the fair is likewise a good place to start for aspiring collectors.
“I think the Affordable Art Fair is the "first purchase" for so many other art enthusiasts and novice collectors like myself,” said Hogans prior to the fair, “I'm looking forward to meeting some of them and having SCAG be the first purchase experience for folks like me.”
At home in Richmond, SCAG provides workshops on art collection, called “Art Collection 101”, to further encourage more people to collect. Their annual “Keep it 1000” series, in which works are capped at $1000, also emphasizes their desire for more attainability in the art world. Outside of money, however, is the maintaining of authenticity. Lightbody talks about the balance required as an artist of working within the given environment while staying true to oneself.
“Finding that balance where you still feel yourself, you still feel fulfilled, you still feel valued, you’re not undervaluing yourself and taking a certain essence of passion out of it for yourself, and just realizing I still want my work in front of people and I want it to be received, accepted, wanted, and able to be attained,” says Lightbody, “It's keeping that balance, and I think Affordable Art Fair allows for pre-established artists to find that balance and then build on it.”
As a gallery, SCAG continues to grow and to give. Lightbody sees more of that in the future, especially moving forward after the trip to Affordable Art Fair NYC. With prospects of more art fairs and more connections, SCAG is stretching its wings and preparing for the most.
“I’m just excited for future projects and expansion, and I think as a gallery we are headed in that direction. A lot of expansion on the backside and gearing up for bigger things and really forcing our way in there, against all adversity,” says Lightbody, “It’s not easy, especially from an artist’s standpoint, but again, just keep giving. I think it makes all the difference when you don’t stop.”
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