The traditional art market is undergoing a transformation. Digitally, art is becoming accessible worldwide, online galleries are opening the flank to decoration, and traditional art houses are auctioning NFTs for millions. At the same time, art is hardly visible to the public - this became especially clear during the Corona pandemic. Creative concepts are lacking, art in public space and as a reinterpretation of inner cities has hardly taken place so far. Yet it is more true than ever: art must come to the people in order to be visible. Then art is system-relevant.
We founded MeetFrida in summer 2020 as a novel initiative to promote artists. The project links the online gallery www.meetfrida.art with art events in the urban environment. That way, MeetFrida gives artists new visibility, opens up new sales channels and also appeals to people who previously had little connection to art. More than 70 young, contemporary artists are now part of the platform's portfolio. The selection is curated by an international jury.
The origin of our project: The Corona crisis is not only a time of low visibility for artists, outdoor billboards are also booked less. So what could be more obvious than using billboards for art? With MeetFrida, we put artworks by MeetFrida artists on billboards in major cities several times a year and send interested people on Art Walks through the city. At the same time, the artworks can be purchased directly from the billboard via QR code. That way, we not only make city centers more colorful, but also generate exciting new sales opportunities for artists.
City Art Week Hamburg
During the City Art Week, MeetFrida shows a curated selection of works by MeetFrida artists on approximately 150 oversized prints in arcades, on buildings and in public spaces. The city thus becomes a temporary museum and invites visitors to linger. The City Art Week is accompanied by pop-up exhibitions, digital art experiences and open artist studios, where visitors get unique insights into the work of artists.
Pop-Up Gallery Spaces
In cooperation with real estate owners and city marketing managers, we are constantly finding interim forms of use for various real estate spaces. We curate our own MeetFrida exhibitions in pop-up galleries, offer artists new workspaces or cooperate with other galleries for temporary exhibition spaces.
Website
From the application of the artists to the exhibition of their art - our MeetFrida website combines all aspects of the extensive project. The online gallery now includes almost 500 works that can be purchased directly. For interested artists, the website offers the direct way to apply and our blog informs about all current projects.
ARt Gallery
Art exhibitions in public spaces bring some hurdles - where, how and what to exhibit? We meet these challenges with our virtual art show, the ARt Gallery (an augmented reality exhibition). Here, the smartphone screen becomes the museum entrance and makes visual art an interactive experience. The entry point is our pink MeetFrida Cube: you scan the QR code on display and the ARt Gallery opens on your smartphone. Browser-based and without registration. We have already shown our MeetFrida ARt Gallery at many different locations, including Hamburg and Basel.
Result
What was originally intended as a temporary project during the Corona pandemic has now developed into a serious online gallery. MeetFrida's successes and the positive feedback from artists and art enthusiasts alike show that the project will continue to work and create change in the long term. With over 80 features in print, online, radio and TV and a reach of more than 450 million online and in print, we have shown time and again that MeetFrida is interesting and relevant to a broad audience.
MeetFrida Foundation