stARTup Art Fair Houston 2019: Call for Artists

stARTup Art Fair Houston is a contemporary art fair designed for artists, by artists. The three-day fair takes place October 11-13, 2019 at the historic Hotel Icon in downtown Houston. Selected artists will each take over a hotel room to present a solo show of their work. The fair takes place concurrently with the Texas Contemporary gallery fair, 10 blocks away, providing exposure to collectors, curators, gallery owners, art consultants, and writers visiting the 4th largest art center in the US.

The core mission of stARTup Art Fair is to provide a marketplace that gives artists the power to present and sell work on their own terms. All sales proceeds belong 100% to the artists. Applications are reviewed by a Selection Committee including Ryan Dennis (Curator and Programs Director, Project Row Houses, Houston), Robert Hodge (Interdisciplinary artist, Houston), Jonathan Hopson (Director, Jonathan Hopson Gallery, Houston), Cindy Lisica (Owner/Director, Cindy Lisica Gallery, Houston), Kelly Montana (Assistant Curator, Menil Drawing Institute, Houston), and Jakub Špaňhel (Widely exhibited painter, Czech Republic).

Exhibitor fees vary by room type, ranging from $1,700 for 40 Shared Rooms (190 sq ft + 30 linear feet wall space) to $3,900 for 4 Junior Suites (425 sf + 75 lin ft). All rooms feature 45-75 feet of linear wall space with 9 1/2 foot floor-to-ceiling wall height, bathroom, and large closets. The exhibitor fee is fully inclusive of 4 nights at the Hotel Icon (Thursday, October 10 check-in through Monday, October 14 check-out) and includes discounted parking, discounts in hotel restaurant and bar, complimentary Wi-Fi, in-room coffee service, flat-screen TV, in-room safe, all hotel and occupancy taxes, and exhibitor services. Rooms are secured on a first come first serve basis once artist selections are made. Entry fee: $25.00. Work sample requirements: minimum 5 images, maximum 20 total samples (images, audio, and/or video combined). International eligibility.