It’s always nice to have something pretty hanging on the otherwise bare walls of your apartment, but you figure that art is too expensive for some schmuck like you who isn’t pulling down big bucks. But luckily, it doesn’t have to be this way! On Friday, March 14, non-profit artists’ book hub Booklyn (who we last saw surviving the 24-hour zine challenge), hosts their annual “Better Read Than Dead” art auction, inviting you to bid on art that starts as low as $50.
The affordable auction, starting this week and running through March 23, has most of its items priced under $200, with some of it as low as $50. There’s a ton of art to choose from, and even better, prior to the bidding starting on Friday, there’s a preview going on right now, allowing you a look at the drawings, paintings, letterpress and silkscreen prints that you can bid on. In addition to featuring affordable art, the auction will include unusual artists’ books such as an embroidered book by Candace Hicks, a 3D printed book by Tom Burtonwood, a “Facebook” by Sto Len, and a fold-out screenprinted book by David Sandlin, which you can see above.
The online auction will raise money to support Booklyn’s core programs: promoting artists’ books through art exhibitions, classroom presentations, and their online book database; offering free career development consulting to artists; and leading community workshops related to artists’ books and zines, thus allowing “regular people” to afford art! See? Art does not need to be exclusively for the rich!