Seeking Art ! Bargain Basement in Chicago! November 20th, the storefront at Co-Prosperity Sphere

My good friend and wonderful artist Hui Min Tsen is again curating and running the Bargain Basement exhibition in Chicago. To coincide with the Select Media Festival, The Bargain Basement will have a grand re-opening on November 20th in the storefront at Co-Prosperity Sphere. 

The Seeking Art Bargain Basement is a project by Hui-min Tsen.

 Bargain basement artists include fabulous artists such as Jamie Kreher and Rose DiSalvo.

Originally located in a booth at Version Festival's NFO XPO in April 2009, this experimental art space is returning in the storefront at Co-Prosperity Sphere.  The Bargain Basement will have a grand re-opening on November 20th to coincide with the Select Media Festival and will remain open throughout the month for the holiday season.

Bargain basements first appeared in 1909 as an effort by department stores to move unwanted merchandise.  Selling surplus goods at discounted prices cleared the way for new products, catered to the consumer's desire to acquire hidden gems for less than their worth, and allowed lower-income shoppers to participate in the trendy new world of mass-produced goods.  The Seeking Art Bargain Basement celebrates the 100th anniversary by applying the same economic and psychological principals to the art market, uniting artists' leftover work with shoppers seeking affordable art.  Unlike the products at Robb Pruitt's "Flea Market" or Martha Rosler's "Garage Sale," the items at the Bargain Basement will be new, with the artists themselves determining the value of selling the work.  All works will be accepted, inviting the viewer to participate in the process of discovery and the purchaser to determine what is of value as an art piece to them.  All proceeds go directly to the artist.  

In a world of simultaneous surplus and exclusion, the Bargain Basement seeks to raise issues inherent in today's art market including the accessibility of art, the practice of limiting dispersal to drive up prices, the speculative nature of the art market,  and whether there is a stigma for artists to exhibit or sell in certain venues.

 Artists include: Lisa Anderson/ Adriana Baltazar/ Irmaly Brackin/Nathan Brines/ Lisa Bulawsky/ Carrie Crow/Alex Dean/ Rose DiSalvo/Ron Ewert/ Amanda Franck/ Usama Haddad/ Annie Hogan/ James Kao/ Marie Kazalia/ Kathleen King/ Chintia Kirana/ Jamie Kreher/ Alex Lee/ Nate Lee/ Lemeh42/ Sara Lynch/ Laura Venestra Montgomery/ Jay Muhlin/ Amanda Paulson Niels Post/ Dave Robinson/ Molly Schafer/ Johannah Silva/ Eduardo de Soignie/ Basia Toczydlowska/ Nika Vaughn/ Dan S. Wang/ Jay Zerbe

Thanks Hui Min! Check other works of Hui Min Tsen here