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Big Medium is proud to partner with Affordable Art Fair on their first Austin edition this May 16-19, 2024

To continue pushing our mission of transforming what the contemporary art market looks like and the communities that the buyers of these works represent, Big Medium will create an on-site exhibition at the Affordable Art Fair that will shine a spotlight on artists with deep ties to Texas, celebrating the unique perspectives and voices contributing to our art scene's rich tapestry. 

“This partnership will help continue pushing Affordable Art Fair’s mission of transforming what the contemporary art market looks like and the communities that the buyers of these works represent,” said Cori Teague, director of Affordable Art Fair Austin. “We’re committed to creating an inclusive and unifying environment, believing that art serves as a powerful common ground to bring diverse communities together.”

“Big Medium is thrilled to be part of the inaugural Affordable Art Fair in Austin! Following our mission, we’re interested in being present where art supporters are and bringing exciting artists who are continuously breaking barriers and making space for their communities to participate,” said Coka Treviño, Big Medium curator and director of programming. “We’re grateful for the Affordable Art Fair’s support and encouragement to continue to do what we do in our city, with the opportunity to expand to new markets.”

Local participating galleries include Adams Gallery, Lydia Street Gallery, Modern Rocks Gallery, and more, soon to be announced.

In addition, from February 22 through February 29, art lovers can purchase tickets to the upcoming Affordable Art Fair, knowing that all proceeds will be donated to Big Medium.

Fair Dates: May 16 — May 19, 2024
Location: Palmer Events Center 900 Barton Springs Rd

For more information about the Affordable Art Fair in Austin visit affordableartfair.com/fairs/austin/.

Big Medium is honored to feature Betelhem Makonnen, Dylan McLaughlin, and Raúl de Lara
at the Affordable Art Fair!

ABOUT the artists:

Betelhem Makonnen: A native of Ethiopia, Betelhem Makonnen is an artist living in Austin, TX, with a MFA from the School of Art Institute of Chi­cago and a BA in History and Literature of Africa/African Diaspora from UT Austin. Her work in photography, video, installation and writing is shown nationally and internationally– including Women & Their Work, The Contemporary Austin, The Philbrook Museum of Art, Big Medium, Le Musée des Abattoirs, and The Carver Museum, with performances and screenings at The Blanton Museum, IVAHM, and Casa Daros. Her work has been featured in a variety of publications including Artforum, NYT, Frieze, Hyperallergic, Zoetrope, O Menelick 2º Ato, Revista Lampejo, and Glasstire. In addition to her practice she co-organizes Addis Video Art Festival, a platform for video art in Ethiopia, and is a co-founder member of the Austin-based arts collective Black Mountain Project.

A continual blending of anthropological, philosophic, and historical – personal and collective – poetic inquiries provides the platform for the development of the conceptual foundation of my practice. My works translate perception, presence, and place within a trans-temporal and trans-spacial topology that operates on the relational dynamics of my African diasporic consciousness.

With unfixed and many-ed points of departure, I use (re)search, (re)configurations, and (re)combinations and to make works that take form in the in-between spaces existing in paradoxes, feedback loops and sites of connection. I want my works to contribute towards an unlearning that brings othered planes of perception into view.

Dylan McLaughlin is a multidisciplinary artist looking critically to ecologies of extraction and threatened ecosystems. He weaves Diné mythology, ecological data, and environmental histories while holding space for complexity. What transpires is the sonification of relationships to land through experimental music composition and improvised performance. In his multi-media installation and performative works, he looks to engage the poetics and politics of human relations to land. He is a recipient of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation LIFT award, and has done residencies at Mass MoCA, BOXO Projects, Slow Research Lab and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. McLaughlin’s work has been shown in spaces including SITE SANTA FE, Denver Art Museum, Smack-Mellon in Brooklyn, and Museum of Capitalism in Oakland, California. McLaughlin’s work is featured in An Indigenous Present, Speaking With Light, and Museum of Capitalism publications. He received his BFA in New Media Art from the Institute of American Indian Arts, and his MFA in Art & Ecology from the University of New Mexico. He is currently an Early Career Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, teaching Performance Art in the College of Fine Arts.

Raul De Lara is a sculptor based in NYC. His practice is rooted in storytelling via woodworking. De Lara immigrated from Mexico to the United States at the age of 12, and has been a DACA recipient since 2012. Growing up in Texas as a non- English speaker, and still currently unable to leave the USA, his work questions ideas around nationality, queer identity, and the immigrant experience. Exploring forms inspired by flora, mask makers, furniture design and architecture, De Lara imbues his sculptures with a hybrid mixture of Mexican/American cultural references, and functions. His research preserves, honors and propels forward traditional uses of wood while combining them with new developments in the global industry of woodworking.

De Lara received his MFA in Sculpture + Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University (2019), and a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Texas at Austin (2015). Selected awards include the NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Craft/Sculpture, Art in America Magazine’s Top 20 Global Talent to Watch, Hermès Paris Inaugural Aspen Installation, Penland Distinguished Artist Winter Fellowship, Silver Art Projects Residency, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Residency, Haystack Mountain School of Craft Open Studio Residency, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown Fellowship, The National Park Services OCARC Residency, Ox-Bow School of Art Fellowship, a Chicago Artists Coalition HATCH Residency, a Queens New Arts Grant, a New York City Arts Corps Grant, and the International Sculpture Center Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award.

ABOUT AFFORDABLE ART FAIR:

In 2024, Affordable Art Fair is celebrating its 25th Anniversary year, having revolutionized the art market with its fun and welcoming approach. Every fair offers something different, with a diverse range of local, national, and international galleries showcasing the best in contemporary art in all styles and mediums. Pieces by household names sit alongside the latest emerging talent. Affordable Art Fairs are designed to help people learn about and fall in love with art, so each fair is filled with artist performances, innovative talks, tours, kids’ activities, live music, delicious local food, and bars. Welcoming over 200,000 visitors and helping artworks worth $40 million find happy new homes yearly, the fairs are recognized as a fantastic day out, taking place in 13 cities worldwide, including New York, Austin, London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Hamburg, Berlin, Stockholm, Singapore, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney.