SUPERMARKET Art Fair. A replication from artist-run initiatives

May 11st - 14th, 2023

Stadsgårdsterminalen

Supermarket

By WAC I 4 MAY 2023

In 2006, as a critical response to the first edition of Market Art Fair, Minimarket is held at Konstnärshuset (The Swedish Artists' House). The organisers denounced Market's markedly commercial idiosyncrasy and considered it appropriate to offer an alternative. This was the embryo of Stockholm's current independent art fair, Supermarket, whose first edition took place in 2007.

The project evolves rapidly from showcasing a modest group of local projects to becoming an international fair for artist-run initiatives. Or in other words: artist-run spaces and collectives, nomadic spaces and artist-run initiatives from anywhere, whose common characteristics are often a non-institutional organisation, hierarchical horizontality and proposing experimental formats.

Given that its remit is to showcase singular projects, create opportunities for other local and international networks and share ideas, processes, tools and content produced in the independent art sphere with a wide audience, Supermarket could be said to have the format of a fair, but it is not.

Instead of focusing on the buying and selling of artworks, Supermarket provides an exhibition surrounded by unexpected encounters and experiences, articulated through Supermarket Talks & Performance, Supermarket Meetings & Meetings Expanded, Supermarket Forum. In doing so, it meets two strategic objectives. On the one hand, to position and give visibility to artist-run initiatives in the local and international art scene, since knowledge of their role in the art sector is scarce among the general public. And, on the other, to stimulate different audiences to take an interest in issues, themes and trends that are substantive to contemporary artistic practice and its links with society at large.

HOME