Taking notes from the symbiotic relationships between all living things, we want to help BIPOC artists cross pollinate with others and build stronger connections and relationships within Western North Carolina - not just with other artists, but businesses and organizations, too - because we are all connected.
Designed to be a Collective, Caravan Art Bazaar is an experimental program launched in 2023 by Mike Talyad of Jungle Branch, who has been organizing art events and markets in the Asheville and Chicago regions since 2016.
Selling enough of your work just to cover studio rent and commission fees is bullshit, and we all know it.
By creating and joining spaces to share and sell art, and by building a community network for artists that doubles as a marketing platform for all artists involved, CAB seeks to flip the script on todays art industry culture, which largely overlooks and undervalues BIPOC artists. What’s more, the industry standards of market fees, studio rentals, consignment fees, and so on all help perpetuate the “starving artist” issues that many folks continue to struggle with - not just those of BIPOC. Selling enough of your work just to cover studio rent and commission fees is bullshit and we all know it.
Not everyone has the time, energy, money, or enough inventory to join a market as a solo vendor, which is a big part of why Caravan Art Bazaar grew into what it is today. CAB features the works of several artists in it’s vendor booth for folks who can’t join in person, taking no percent of their sales. That said, some artists have chose to donate a % of some or all of their sales to a mutual aid initiative of their choosing as part of CAB’s ART4AID program.
Our website & Instagram both act as community networks and marketing platforms for all CAB Artists. In addition to this, the ability to join markets and sell artwork in the CAB Tent or brick & mortar locations that donate merchandise space all help CAB Artists achieve more opportunities to earn income from doing what they love, and more - more importantly - more time to create what they love; ART.
