SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- stARTup Art Fair announced its inaugural edition, taking place at one of San Francisco’s boutique Joie de Vivre outposts, Hotel Del Sol. From May 1-3, 2015 fifty artists that have been selected from an open application process will each take over one of the Hotel Del Sol’s stylish rooms as their own three-day solo exhibition space. An independent art fair for unrepresented artists, stARTup Art Fair will provide artists with direct access to the art world, and art enthusiasts with direct access to artists, creating a unique exhibition platform for thought-provoking contemporary artwork in the nation’s most creative, progressive and wealthiest city.

With rapid changes in the current art market and many galleries closing, visual artists at all stages of their career are finding themselves without traditional gallery representation. stARTup Art Fair was conceived of and founded by artist Ray Beldner and former gallery owner Steve Zavattero, as an innovative and experimental way to provide artists with access to a professional exhibition environment populated by dealers, curators, collectors, critics, publishers and art appreciators. stARTup Art Fair provides unaffiliated artists with a space that inspires the creation of 50 distinctive and thought-provoking solo exhibitions. Most importantly, all participating artists keep 100% of the proceeds from their sales, as well as any new & proprietary relationships established during the fair.

The Bay Area has a history of attracting creative, visionary, self-starting artists, designers, and entrepreneurs, and stARTup Art Fair celebrates the spirit of this region with its investment in emerging and under-recognized artists. stARTup Art Fair will be a destination where creatives of all stripes can converge to see new, inspiring art in the California spirit of discovery. The fair will provide the chance for the next generation of art collectors to get in on the ground floor of a type of artist “start-up,” where collectors can acquire great works of art and make real connections with artists in an intimate setting.

Through its democratic, online application process, stARTup Art Fair gives any artist the opportunity to have their work reviewed by an impressive, influential selection committee with a diverse range of art world professionals that includes:

• Janet Bishop, Curator of Painting and Sculpture, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

• Cathy Kimball, Executive Director, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art

• Walter Maciel, Walter Maciel Gallery, Culver City

• Heather Marx, Principal, Heather Marx Art Advisory

• Paul Mullins, San Francisco-based artist and Professor of Art, San Francisco State University

• Hank Willis Thomas, New York-based photo conceptual artist

Paul Mullins discusses his involvement in stARTup Art Fair as a member of the selection committee: I see stARTup Art fair as not only a shrewd action in response to San Francisco’s lost exhibition spaces, but also a great step forward in allowing artists themselves to take the wheel of their careers. We know that skyrocketing rents have most affected emerging and mid-career artists, and the venues showing them. I think it is rather thrilling that the first big rethinking of the contemporary art market setup is one that incorporates the art fair model – the other major development affecting artists over the last dozen years.

The Hotel Del Sol’s 57-room layout provides the fair’s inherent organizing principle: each selected artist has free reign over the exhibition design of their individual hotel room. The hotel’s updated twist on the quintessential 1950s California motor lodge provides fairgoers with a fun, relaxed and stylish venue to see a selection of vetted, high quality artwork from artists working in all media.

The launch of stARTup Art Fair marks the return of multiple art fairs to San Francisco, and aims to add a new dimension to San Francisco’s promising position as a premier, international visual art destination. The fair will be held concurrently with the city’s staple gallery fair, Art Market San Francisco, with the goal of providing Bay Area art enthusiasts with more art to experience, and one more outstanding reason for art collectors to travel to San Francisco in May.