CCAD’s First Virtual Art Fair goes global

Concerns about the spread of COVID-19 prompted the cancellation of activities around the world including some of Columbus College of Art & Design’s signature spring events. But thanks to some quick thinking, CCAD’s biannual art fair was able to go on, albeit in a vastly different form than in previous years.

For the first time in the college’s 141-year history, its popular art fair, which features a juried selection of work from CCAD students and alumni, went online as the Virtual Spring Art Fair on April 10–12, with sales reaching customers around the United States.

In advance of its debut, the Art Fair picked up press from a variety of outlets, including Arch Paper, which included the event alongside Frieze New York, an exhibition of work by Louise Bourgeois, and both the Sydney Biennale and the Singapore Biennale. Other Art Fair press included:

• A Columbus Undeground interview with three artists with work in the fair: Brittany Renee Jones (Illustration, 2021), Megs LeVesseur (Fine Arts, 2010), and Jessica Driscoll (Fashion Design, 2014). 
• A WBNS-10TV feature hosted by anchor Karina Nova with CCAD Assistant Director of Career Services Jordan Bell and two Art Fair participants: Bruce Hull (Advertising & Graphic Design, 1998) and his daughter Ashley Hull (Illustration, 2016).
• A Columbus Dispatch story with Bell, Ashley Hull, and Eli Secrest (Contemporary Crafts, 2021).
• A Columbus Alive roundup of online visual art and design offerings around central Ohio. 

Learn more about the CCAD Art Fair at ccad.edu/artfair.