The legendary Raw Arts Festival heads to New York for January 2007 and will become New York's first Festival to be led by and run for raw artists.

    /24-7PressRelease/ - July 22, 2006 - The Raw Arts Festival made its critically acclaimed debut in London in August 2004 and followed up bigger and better in May 2005. It is widely recognized as being "London's largest and best International exhibition of self-taught art mounted to date". The Festival then relocated to Valencia for October 2006 and was quickly dubbed "Spain's first non-mainstream art festival". In 2007, it will travel to the USA and will become the first major 'non-mainstream' arts Festival to offer a fresh alternative to the New York Outsider Art Fair. The Festival thus aims to:
• Bring together at least 32 of the world's best living raw artists (Folk/Intuitive/Marginalised/Self-taught/Visionary art etc) - thus providing anyone attending the private view a unique opportunity to meet some extraordinary people.
• Exhibit their art - thus providing anyone attending the Festival a unique opportunity to make a sensible investment by buying some stunning raw art.
• Provide a platform upon which the participating artists can seek personalized press coverage etc.
In a very real sense, it will be "New York's first Festival to be led by and run for raw artists". At the very heart of this Festival is a continued exciting collaboration with the New York Arts Magazine. This year the festival will also collaborate with The Carrozzini von Buhler gallery (CVB space) in New York. There will thus be extensive publicity and an exciting new venue for the festival.

The CVB Space is supported by artists for artists. The main gallery is one floor up from ground level and is 2700 square feet in size. It can exhibit approximately 32 artist's works in total. It "is a large, stunning artist loft, in Manhattan, in the heart of the fashionable Meatpacking district. CVB SPACE is between Spice Market and Aer Lounge, and is directly around the corner from Soho House, Hotel Gansevoort, and Pastis". The "CVB SPACE was featured in the film "Something About You" starring Ashley Judd, has been seen on Law & Order SVU, and the building is the onscreen home of Samatha from Sex and the City. Recently, CVB SPACE was featured on the International Channel worldwide. CVB SPACE will soon be seen in the film "Mostly Martha" starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and in the upcoming Fox TV Show pilot, "The Wedding Album," starring Bruno Campos. A few of our clients have been Mercedes, Smart Car, Grey Goose Vodka, H&M, Essence magazine, and many others." (Both quotes are taken from the CVB space website).

The Gallery is located in the meatpacking district near the Gansevoort market. This is at the Northern edge of Greenwich village and at the Southern edge of the Chelsea district. "Not so long ago, the trendiest thing worn in the Meatpacking District was a blood-stained apron. Now, Gansevoort Market (as the district is officially known) is New York's most fashionable neighborhood, chock full of hip restaurants, exclusive clubs, and paycheck-draining boutiques. Despite the haute onslaught, the neighborhood has managed to retain its blue-collar edge, thanks to the many wholesale meat companies which still operate out of the warehouses between Gansevoort and West 15 Streets. By night, however, the district is transformed, as butchers and meat-cutters disappear, and magazine editors, models, and a stream of Sarah Jessica Parker look-alikes take their place" (quote from NYC Meatpacking District Tour website)

The latest Festival website was put on-line on June 19th. Within a month, the Festival has become a third booked. The artists chosen include international established raw self-taught artists such as: Dover Abrams (USA), Sue Kreitzman (UK), Franco Meloni (Italy), Piers Midwinter (UK), Ben Reche (UK), Renate Seffer (Grand Cayman), Brian Steimel (USA), Elizabeth Turnbull (Tasmania) and Steve Wright (UK). This exhibition is one of the hottest tickets currently available and as such, it is recommended that you book as soon as possible to secure a place. For more information, please visit: www.raf2007.com or contact: [email protected]

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