Montauk Art Show helps define a different scene

Art will be front and center this weekend in Montauk, when the 14th annual Show on The Green moves into the middle of town. The outdoor fine art event, also known as the Montauk Art Show, is sponsored by the Montauk Artists’ Association (MAA) and helps raise funds for the non-profit artist and art education group, which juries the exhibition every year.

As at other outdoor art shows, visitors can expect a mix of paintings, photography and sculpture. Unlike most, the Montauk show has only 75 artist slots available and MAA has no intention of expanding. In practical terms, the Montauk Village Green can hold only 75 vendors, said MAA treasure and show coordinator Anne Weissman. Producing a larger show would mean moving it to an outlying location.

While the size limitation might not seem significant, limiting the number of artists has rendered an outdoor show at which competition for exhibition space ensures quality. Its reputation for quality has pushed the Montauk Art Show to receive a top rank for a show of its size from the Art Fair SourceBook, which rates art and craft shows.

The show’s high ranking, which has a long reach in the world of art fair exhibitors, means that Montauk Art Show jurors get to pick the best from an international pool of applicants, Ms. Weissman said. Most of the artists live on the East Coast, from Florida to Vermont, according to www.montaukartistassociation.org. Other artists live in Minneapolis, Pennsylvania, and California. Still others hail from Israel, China and France.

Because of the changing pool of accepted artists, the Montauk Art Show reinvents itself each year. There is a handful of returning artists, but the show mostly features exhibitors new to the Montauk Village Green.

“You never know what you’re going to see at the Montauk Art Show,” Ms. Weissman said. “It’s different every year. What’s for sure is the quality of the artists and that it will be interesting. The show is filled with professional artists who show in art shows around the country. They’re serious about their art and about bringing artwork they think people want to see.”

With the recession battering art sales, smaller art shows are proving to be the perfect fit, according to both show organizers and exhibiting artists. With fewer than 100 exhibitors, viewers tend to take more time with each artist’s work because they don’t have to rush or try to cram too much art into their time at the show. And when a show features fine art getting focused attention from a sophisticated audience that appreciates it, the careful consideration often translates into sales, according to exhibiting artist Yoram Gal.

“I don’t want to be in large art shows where people are walking around and eating,” Mr. Gal said. “Artists who have original work that is considered ‘fine art’ don’t do well at these types of shows. This is the same story everywhere. The best shows are the smaller ones that have sophisticated people who have an appreciation for art and money to buy it. The small, clever shows are much better for artists.”

The Montauk Art Show is held every year on the third weekend in August. The second weekend in August features the Montauk Historical Society’s Craft Fair, held at the Second House Museum. The fourth weekend brings the Lions Club Craft Fair to Lions Field. Regular scheduling makes the show easy to predict, and aligning the show in a three-weekend rotation of outdoor art and crafts shows ensures that visitors are in the right frame of mind to appreciate what’s on view.

Besides providing a flow of art into Montauk, the Show on The Green is the only annual fund-raiser for MAA. Application fees help defray the cost of producing the juried show, and proceeds from sales split with the artists help cover the cost of free art classes for Montauk schoolchildren and help to fund a scholarship for a graduating Montauk senior pursuing visual art or music in college. A 50/50 raffle also helps raise money for the Percy Heath Arts Scholarship Award Program.

By bringing artists from across Long Island, the United States and occasionally the world to Montauk, the Montauk Art Show fulfills another important mission of MAA—to make sure art and artists have a presence in Montauk.

MAA members are a mix of artists who live in Montauk and the surrounding area and artists who have homes in New Jersey, Florida, Virginia and other states and also have summer homes or vacation annually in Montauk. Some artists who live outside the area plan their vacation time according to the schedule of classes offered at MAA’s base at the Depot Gallery, including a full slate of adult workshops and life drawing open studios.

“There are artists who plan their vacations around instructors they want to take classes with,” Ms. Weissman said. “We formed the MAA because there was nothing like this in the area and we wanted to make sure there was art in Montauk.”

MAA members can exhibit in shows held at the Depot Gallery. Each exhibit is 11 days. Member art shows are held from Memorial Day through Columbus Day, with artist receptions on the first Saturday of every show. The public is encouraged to attend.

The only complaint the MAA receives about the Show on The Green is the fact it is held way out at the end (or beginning) of the East End in the height of the summer season. “People from other parts of Long Island are afraid to come to the show because of the traffic,” Ms. Weissman said. “To that I say they should get a good map, find the back roads and enjoy the views of the farm fields. The show is worth the trip. We hope people come so they can see for themselves. They won’t be disappointed.”

The 14th annual juried Show on The Green (the Montauk Art Show) will be held Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free to the rain-or-shine event. A list of exhibiting artists and information about the Montauk Artists’ Association can be found at www.montaukartistsassociation.org.