Interview: The Cheaper Show

June 9th, 2010

Just when those yellow “Buy Art Not Cocaine” posters had finally peeled off the warehouses and construction sites of Vancouver, The Cheaper Show is back. Our favourite art show where nothing costs more than $200 returns on June 26th to a 30,000 square foot space, double the size of the last jam-packed event back in 2008. In preparation for finally ditching that dog-eared “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” poster we bought at Imaginus ten years ago in favour of something more wall-worthy, we caught up with event founder Graeme Berglund about Cheaper No. 9.

The Block: This is the ninth Cheaper Show, and it’s a big event – 200 artists, 400 pieces of art at $200 a pop, and if this one’s anything like No. 8 there’s going to be a big crowd and long lineups. Can you tell me what Cheaper Show 1 was like?

Graeme Berglund: Cheaper No. 1 was an unexpected success. It was very slapdash as far as how it came together. We called some friends and asked them if they would be into selling their artwork for $75 a piece and asked The Sugar Refinery if they would be into hosting. We cut and pasted some flyers, photocopied them and took them around to the headshops, tattoo shops, hair salons, and that was pretty much it. That night about 200 people passed through the room and we sold about 45 pieces and a bunch of beer. It really wasn’t a ton of effort but it turned into an immediate success. Years later, we’ve become very good at throwing these shows. We took note of some of the frustrations at our last show, particularly with the lineups and have reworked every system in our entire show to ensure everything is far more accessible. In addition to the 12 members of The Cheaper Crew, we have 110 volunteers who are all putting in hundreds of hours in order to make this the tightest show we’ve run.

The Cheaper Show team – image by Justin Tyler Close

TB: What gave you the idea to start the Cheaper Show back in 2001?

GB: The original genesis behind the show was simply frustration due to the lack of opportunity in our city. Myself and my friends were not getting any attention from any galleries within the limited art scene here, so in conversations over pints we decided that we would reinvent the wheel a little and refit it so that it was in an environment of inclusivity as opposed to how Thursday night openings felt on South Granville. You had the ability to come down with a bunch of friends, buy some drinks, listen to music, meet the artists and buy your first piece of art and walk out with it that night.

TB: With the art priced so well, the show’s great for getting exposure for emerging artists. Who are some people who’ve gained notoriety after exhibiting at the show?

GB: Local street artist The Dark is a pretty good example. We met Devitt back in 2002 when he was still working under the name Star 7. We were one of the first people to showcase his work and he immediately drew people in like a tar pit. At the next show people showed up specifically looking for his work and each time he stepped up his game. His work started pouring into the streets, stencils that spoke clearly to all that passed, beginning a dialogue that still goes on to this day. Years later, Mr. Devitt Brown is undeniably notorious.

The Dark – Dry Cat, 2009 (left); Tricks, 2009 (right)

TB: I think it’s notable how The Cheaper Show pulls established artists as well as emerging ones – it’s a good example of artistic camaraderie. Do the bigger names readily volunteer, or do you have to go to them?

GB: It happens rather organically and in different means each time. The two most notable artists showing in Cheaper No. 8 and No. 9 respectively are Attilla Richard Lukacs and Lawrence Paul Yuxwelupton. Both are friends of mine, so this made for an easier ask. However, since our third show we started getting contacted by gallery represented artists who wanted to participate and offer their names to cause a higher stature. This was unforeseen; many of them expressed an appreciation for the discourse the show caused within the industry and many loved the energy of the audience. This crowd is young and hungry; and they want to buy art.

Lawrence Paul Yuxwelupton – New Chiefs on the Land, 2006

TB: How many people submitted art in the hope of showing at Cheaper No. 9?

GB: We received over 950 international submissions from over 200 cities around the world. Unreal. We’ve received interweb traffic from over 1700 cities this year. It was amazing seeing entries from places as far away as Argentina, Croatia, Lithuania, and Poland. We still have a strong focus on supporting our local Vancouverites and Canadian talent.

TB: It must have been tough to whittle that down to 200. What sort of criteria did you guys look for when choosing artists?

GB: This is the first year I have hired curators for The Cheaper Show. Lisa Giroday is our Lead and Jessica Delorme is the Associate Curator. The focus of our event has always been quality and diversity. We are looking for artists that are dedicated to their craft, whose work speaks of innovation, and artists whom are creating work that is relevant to current climate of international art. Despite the task of carefully combing over 950 submissions, Lisa and Jessica did an exceptional job and have presented the strongest group of artists we have shown to this date.

Mark Warren Jacques – Falling into Love, 2010

TB: The Cheaper Show won a grant from Absolut. Would you have been able to do the show without that windfall or did it just help to make things even better?

GB: We were dead set on doing the show for this year, and as a matter fact we’d started working on new concepts, pre-production and a business plan in August 2009. We didn’t find out about the contest until last October and weren’t declared a winner until early April of this year. We had to move forward without any expectation of that money coming through. We did win the competition but in fact, we were awarded far less than half of the advertised winnings. We are grateful for this bursary. My friend Steve Rio joined our crew as Executive Director this year and since early January we have been doing fundraising. It has been the first time for both of us and it has proven to be an interesting process. We’ve met some incredibly influential people in this city and received amazing support from everyone that we have spoken to.

Tod Seelie – Matt and Kim, 2009 (top); Jon Bocksel – Untitled, 2009 (bottom)

TB: For some of the people who will come to Cheaper on June 26, it’ll be their first time purchasing art. Any advice for them on how to buy?

GB: The best advice is to look past the sheer volume of work and really get right up to the pieces and check them out one by one. Simply find a piece or two that you love and take note of the number listed below and walk over to our sales area and make a purchase. Very simple.

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