Art Guides
Park Avenue Armory Ousts Long-Running Art Show to Make Way for Performances
The show organizer calls it a "major shock."
The show organizer calls it a "major shock."
Eileen Kinsella ShareShare This Article
The New York Art, Antique, & Jewelry Show, which has been running for 35 years, has been tossed out of its home at the Park Avenue Armory. According to a report in Page Six, the Armory wants to focus more on live performing arts for the venue’s lineup.
Despite shelling out $320,000 in rent for the five-day show, show organizers were told that in the future there is no space for the event in the lineup. “Their intention is to not have events of this nature in the Park Avenue Armory and to switch it all to live performances,” Scott Diament, CEO of the Palm Beach Show Group, which organizes the fair, told artnet News in a phone interview. “They’re a non profit. I don’t know if they can do whatever they want. I don’t know the legality of it.” He told Page Six that it was a “major shock.”
“I’m still hopeful that [Armory president] Rebecca [Robertson] changes her mind,” Diament told artnet News. “This is an important event. It’s been running continuously for 35 years. With 85 exhibitors, it fills an important space on the New York calendar.” Diament said he’s also hopeful that he’ll get offers from other Manhattan venue owners.
The most recent edition of the Art, Antique & Jewelry show was held at the Armory from November 20–24. The show is known for drawing visitors such as Ivana Trump and Carl Icahn, as well as hosting an annual pop-up Le Cirque restaurant.
Dealers including Macklowe Gallery and Rehs Galleries have written to Armory leaders to express their disappointment but so far have not had success getting them to reconsider.
Page Six says that Robertson has been remaking the space as an arts center. This year, the Armory received a $65 million gift from the Thompson Family Foundation towards that initiative.
The Park Avenue Armory has not responded for comment.