The Truth In This Art: Stories That Matter

Rob Lee: Welcome to the Truth in this Art, your source for conversations connecting arts, culture, and community. These are stories that matter, and I am your host, Rob Lee, except no substitutes. Today, I'm excited to welcome back a returning guest, the co-founder and the director of the Forward Thinking Contemporary Art Fair, Future Fair, which is coming up on its sixth installment. So please help me in welcoming back, once again, Rachel Mijares-Fick. Welcome back to the Truth in this Art.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Oh, it's nice to be back. It's great to see you, Rob. And I always love seeing you at the fair each year. And yeah, just I'm so happy to be here. And big congrats on your anniversary episode.

Rob Lee: Oh, thank you so much. That's wonderful. Here's the thing, because I don't know how to dress at art fairs, right? So I'm always, this is that stage where I'm like, all right, I'm going out of town.

Let me make sure I'm shopping. So I'll just say this, when I go to Future Fair, it's always me wearing the best fit that I'll have on for the year. So that's just for context. It's art, but also for me, it's a fashion show.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: I love that. I love that.

Rob Lee: So since we last spoke and we prepped, you know, we was in preparation for, I believe, the 2023 installment, I want to go back a little bit and have you reintroduce yourself to the listeners who may not remember that interview. Shame on them for not listening or remembering, but, you know, kind of start off there with a reintroduction and we'll go from there.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Yes, of course. So I am the co-founder of an art fair in New York called Future Fair. I co-founded it back in 2020 during the pandemic with Rebecca La Liberty.

And the two of us have been running this ship for now over six years. So we're going to have our sixth edition of the fair in a few weeks, opening on May 13, 2026. We have an incredible team of, you know, hardworking, brilliant people that are part of Future Fair for, you know, pretty much throughout all of these years. It's been great to, for all of us, just to see everybody growing into their roles and expanding what Future Fair is since we last spoke, actually. But the fair, if you're not familiar with what an art fair is, it's a trade show where you have art galleries and artist collectives and independent curators from all over the world.

They come and they set up a little pop-up show so that everybody is a part of this wider exhibition. And for Future Fair, we, you know, we focus a lot on emerging and under-recognized voices. So that doesn't necessarily mean it's always the youngest artist in the room. There's also, you know, people that have long careers, but maybe they haven't had a platform yet like Future Fair. Our show is very much a fabric of the art world and especially the New York art world. And I'm very proud that it has launched so many careers of artists and art dealers and that the, over these past six, seven years, it's just been amazing to see the tendrils and all the places that our collaborators have gone on to.

Rob Lee: That's great. And it definitely aligns with the values that I have. I'm glad that, you know, we had that initial conversation years back and, you know, prepping to come up or have you. It was one of the, when I start up the years, too, what I'm going to do is one of the first things that are on there for the booking of the hotel and the whole, just the whole time and going up there. And I just feel, and going to Future Fair and just being in New York, I'm just getting so much energy out of it that, you know, it's going to be a bunch of interviews that come out from folks that I meet and it's accessible and it's conversational. And we're going to go back into Future Fair in a bit a little bit deeper.

So I like you gave that tease. So I want to go back, looking back at your 15 plus years of experience, because you're very, very knowledgeable individual here. So I want to go into one idea or one truth, if you will, about sort of the art world, just from your perspective.

And I know it's broad and it's different for folks. But what is one truth about the art world that you've had to unlearn to get where you're at today? Hmm.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Well, I'd say that something that I talk about a lot is allowing space for the growth of just of how your taste in art evolves. You know, I just, I've really learned to in where I'm at in my career is I don't dismiss anything, even if it's not my bag at the moment.

Sure. You know, I love traveling and spending time in different places and learning about how artists approach their practice in different contexts. And all of that is, it just helps me constantly evolve my understanding of what is good art. And I never want to just be like a horse of blinders on and just be like, oh, that's not something that I'm interested in.

So it doesn't have value. I think that we need to always allow space to be open to something that we does unexpected. And when I look back on a, you know, a couple of decades of a career in the art world, you know, I see things that maybe 10 years ago were not of interest to the market or of interest to curators. And that those are things that are being taken very seriously now, for example, you know. And I think that that's a big part of the art world becoming, you know, more and more and more globalized. I think it's a big part of this understanding that for more diversity and more voices in the mix.

And all of that is, you know, part of everybody essentially like decolonizing their their own understanding of art. So I've actually been living in LA for the last three years. And it's been really cool just to see how much my my own evolution and my own curatorial eye has been here. LA is a really amazing city for artists. It's a very artist driven city. There's a lot of artists, spaces, a lot of artists, collectives. It's it's just a really tight knit community of artists.

There's actually even a WhatsApp group here where all of the artists in all of LA are on it so they can, you know, share advice and things like that with each other. But there's certain, you know, schools of art that I've found are really specific to LA, such as the ceramic artists here are just doing really incredible things, very large scale things as well. The there's like a school of LA landscape painting that I've really come to and to appreciate. And maybe if I before I had lived here, maybe I would have considered some of these things decorative, but now I just find them to be so sincere and so in dialogue with the ecstatic nature that we have in Southern California. And then I also really appreciate this Chicano Angelino artist community as well. Living here and getting to see so many murals everywhere. You know, just even like storefronts with the way that they're hand painted or cars that are painted on the sides and then seeing how that Chicano iconography is brought into artwork by by artists here is really, really cool. One there was one moment for me was I'm a part of the Hammer Collective, which is like a young donor group with the Hammer Museum.

And they bring us on these fun field trips. And one of them was last summer, they brought us to Tlac Studios, which is a studio building in historic South Central run by the artist, Ozzy Juarez. And then in there, we got to do all these studio visits with artists. And it just it was just a moment where it was like everything clicked with me. I could just see the work and then I understood it in the context of the city that I lived in. And I was like, wow, this is incredible. These are such important artists that are in dialogue with this city and with their heritage.

And if I wasn't living here in LA, I just wouldn't be able to appreciate it in the same way. And so going back to your question is like, what are you? I don't know if it's so much unlearning, but always allowing the space to learn. Does that make sense?

Rob Lee: Makes a lot of sense. And here's the thing. Here's the thing, boss lady, because that's what I just had to call you this for. You're the boss when I reach out.

You've answered three other questions too, right? So appreciate you. You're making my job easier. But I'll submit this, right? You know, I look at doing this, you know, since you and I last talked like three years ago at this point, as far as on this podcast, there has been this sort of shift in this awareness and this awakening around like podcasting, right? So like, oh, you know, is there value in it? Oh, it's just disposable. And you start seeing, you know, more and more people being aware of the sort of the commercial component around it that it could be a revenue stream.

It could be a marketing tool. And I was doing and doing it for 17 years and coming up on two decades. And, you know, over the last three years, I've been able to do education around it because I think it's important to really have an idea of what it is and not be unflappable and move and in an unmovable about what it is. It's like, hey, it could be journalism. It can be something that's purely entertainment.

It can be documentary. And I find more and more folks reach out to me with this sort of influencer posture. And that's not quite what I'm doing.

I'm doing something and speaking with folks who maybe don't have a chance to share their story, sort of these underrepresented and unrepresented artists. That's always been baked in. I'm not loudly, well, I am proudly, but I'm not always loudly talking about it. I'm just letting sort of my eye guide me. And when I talk to folks who are curators and so on, it was like, you're doing curation in this. It's done with care and intent.

And I'm very protective of who I have on how I have them on and who I have back on as well, because sometimes it's like, I hope this is as good as the first one. So having those two, I guess we can go back into a future fair. Had a sort of a follow up question about this, the sixth installment, the sixth edition, if you will. So what are the themes or the considerations for this year beyond sort of the underrepresented and is sort of beyond the just the forward thinking nature of it? What are the themes that feel like consistent, that feel like really set in and baked in?

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Well, for me, personally, this year, I've been interested in scouting galleries who work out of Canada and Mexico are bordering North American neighbors. Sure. I think it's especially important to show that cross dialogue right now. Canada has several thriving art scenes. I've been fortunate to have visited Montreal a few years ago and done a deep dive on their art community. A lot of great artists and galleries coming out of their great museums. And then our collectors at Future Fair, they actually always love that we have strong Canadian representation of the fair.

I love to hear about. And this year, we have a gallery called Wishbone and Robertson Eddys. And also a few cool programs who are new to us, Alison Milne, Janie and Aboto. And then this January, I visited Mexico City for the art week. And I actually hadn't been there since before the pandemic. And it has changed so much. It is such an exciting moment. It's just teaming with creativity and artists and young people who are hungry for art.

It's really, really cool. And I will admit, me living in Los Angeles has helped me better appreciate and have a deeper interest in the Mexican art scene. But from Mexico, we have Pali Galavia and Carte, Artbug, who is actually between LA and CDMX. And a gallery called Alde Junquen. And they operate with a gallery in Mexico City and in Atlanta, actually. And so it's run by two cousins, Bai and Alfonso. And they are creating community and discourse between artists of both of those regions.

And this year, they're doing a really interesting two person booth at the fair. It's going to be Frank and Tyreek Morrison. And so that's a father and son duo who are both based out of Atlanta.

And Frank is the dad. He is very, he's a very recognized artist. He's received the NAACP Image Award and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. His work is very much shaped by 80s hip hop movement.

And then you've got his son Tyreek, who his work is more collage, layered narrative, pulling on history and then his own personal lived experiences. So it's going to be really cool to see these this intergenerational family duo. And we actually have a couple other booths in the fair who are also very intergenerational. And one other, we have like a mom and daughter in another booth. Wow.

Yeah. And then I've also been interested in featuring galleries from cities that are not traditionally known as Art Hubs, whose artist communities are under the radar, yet making really rigorous work. So for example, we are exhibiting a special project by a new space out of Minneapolis called Crews. And what's interesting about what they are doing is that they're positioning themselves not just as a gallery, but also a classroom and social hub for dialogue and mutual support. So Crews is bringing Javier Tavada, a Mexican photographer living in Minneapolis.

And his body of work that he's bringing to the Future Fair is titled Unsettled. And that features large scale, quiet, Minnesota landscapes. You know, one of the images shows a farm on a field within oncoming, you know, dark storm clouds. And then layered discreetly in the corner is an image of Minneapolis protesters and border agents. And for me, the stretch of position of this subtly serene landscape with the historic political moment, it just it reflects not just them, but I think it also reflects for many of us, our lived experiences right now. You know, I think we at least I can speak for myself is you can have this whiplash between attempting to sustain an inner peace and like a normalcy within challenging times that require bravery. And so I really love how Javier does this juxtaposition so poetically and it's not super didactic. It allows a lot of space for you as a viewer to enter it in on your own terms and allow it to unfold for you quietly.

Rob Lee: Yeah, I'm on Crews' site right now. And I this other image that's here sort of this snowy white backdrop and I see that whistle that's there as well. I saw the image that you're referencing. And so that's it's very interesting work. And I am also enjoying hearing just sort of the intergenerational component like that's the thing that's there is sort of like broadening, you know, but also still pretty close with North. Well, with our our neighbors to the direct north and our neighbors to sort of the the central of America. I have you just these part of North American is often forgotten that we're all like sort of connected. And the other thing I'll say, and I meant to mention this earlier, going back to sort of this notion of being where being around it, being around the artist you're touching on being in LA. That's one of the reasons why when I'm doing these these interviews, especially over the last two years. So last year and maybe a point, I just I was to keep it a buck.

My birthday is an operation day. So yeah. So intentionally, I went down to DC every week last year to just really take a temperature of it. And there was some impact on some of the interviews and some of the guests that I was interviewing, you know, they were sort of less inclined to talk about certain topics of, you know, just the same of what we're in. And it's not being against it is finding ways to work around it. But my point is, I would not have known the climate of what was happening without being in the middle of it, being around it. You know, doing an interview via Zoom is great. But sometimes it calls for being there, being with a person, being around them, which is a little bit of a segue to this next question, actually.

But this notion of being around people. So when I go up to Philadelphia, I'm splitting time between Baltimore, Philadelphia and DC. That's where the majority of my interviews are happening. And when I go up there, I get a different vibe. I get a different energy and doing an interview in person.

The guest activates the subject activates in a different way. I was like, maybe it's my cologne. I did invest in some good cologne. Maybe it's that it activates it. But the conversation has just it's a plus.

I think a lot of the conversations are a's, but it's definitely an a plus when it's in person, because it's like you get it. You see it. You're around it.

And so going back into this, the sort of next question, the segue. So the Future Fair launched in 2020. That was a year that changed how we gathered, right?

I think a lot of things shifted to a real digital layout. I think it's sort of digital concerts. It's like, I like going to concerts. I like music digitally.

I don't know if I want that to be the experience of how I'm experiencing concerts, right? And we've we've since moved back to to in person. But then, you know, in that the sort of middle point of that, we've had, you know, more of this digital, this AI side of things. And it's definitely come along for the ride. So in response, I'm seeing artists, even myself, we can try to commit more to the handmade, more to the human contact, more to touching grass. So how is the 2026, the sixth edition of the fair highlighting sort of material driven work and the need for sort of that physical connection?

Rachel Mijares-Fick: A lot in there, a lot in there.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: But, you know, I know, I know. I mean, you were also talking about like podcast in person versus zoom. And I've just been noticing that with a lot of podcasts lately, it's just that the magic that happens when people are physically in space together.

And and that's also why I love fairs is just you get to like get beyond the screen and get to look at art and interact with people in person. So, yeah, that's that's also that's also important. And it's also much about what makes us human, you know? But yeah, I. I do want to. I'm just there's a lot.

Rob Lee: There's a lot that we're talking about here. Yeah, yeah, like we can we can we can stop and sort of like break that down into pieces if you want.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: But because you would, you know, mentioned a little bit about, you know, moving back to in person. And now we're entering into this AI, you know, era. And that is also very new for us. And I think that there's a lot of questions and things like, well, how does that impact art? So I want to touch on that. And then I want to touch on a little bit about like this physicality thing.

But yeah, I'd say so. For me, when I when I think about AI, I just I actually don't think it's going to replace artists. Because I feel that technology is only a mirror to humanity. And it is artists who are able to not only mirror the human experience, but transcend it and truly creates. Something new.

And then what's coincidentally interesting is we have a partnership with a AI platform for the first time at the fair. And they're called Rev. And, you know, I'm not going to lie, I was first hesitant about it, but we were open to meeting with them.

And I really I got a good feel for them. They really care about artists and their founder considers himself an artist. He's a photographer and he's also an alum from Adobe. So they're very much focused on creating tools that support artists and creatives with ideas.

So it's more like it's not like, oh, we're trying to replace the artist. It's more how can we help you? How can we create something that's going to help you move? Move your ideas into reality, you know?

So that's my little notes on AI. But then go let's talk about the, you know, the physicality. And if you're if you're listening, you could see me.

I'm just like holding my hands and as if I'm grabbing something that is real. But yeah, you'll see when you come to the fair, you'll see a lot of that. And because that is just so much about what why people connect with art. They want to see the hand that, you know, painted a piece. Or if you're a photographer, they want to understand that they want to be brought into that moment that you're capturing.

Or if you're, you know, a ceramic artist, they want to feel the physicality of the objects that you are creating. And so specifically, there is one artist I thought would be we could talk about with this in mind. And this is a Filipino American artist. She's based in Los Angeles.

Her name is Diane Briones Williams. And she can be showing a solo booth with the gallery official welcome from LA. And Diane's woven tapestries depict romanticized Western colonial imagery that is disrupted with indigenous Filipino iconography, which is just very carefully and thoughtfully woven into it.

And Diane's words, her work focuses on post-colonial ghosts and spectrality, how the past continues to haunt the present. And I just I love how poetic that she is just in one line. I'm like, oh, that's beautiful.

Rob Lee: That's great. Thank you. Thank you for that. It's just really a good thing to have like sort of this going back to the AI piece, because that's the thing that sits there. So sort of full disclosure, like I'm working with that field regularly in the day job. So I sit there and battle with it, or even this this notion of like how we're using it. You know, that's a piece of it, because I think during the duration of doing this series, we had NFTs, that's going to ruin everything to, you know, AI is going to ruin everything. I just think like it's how it's being used, perhaps. And I've seen it like when it was a period, probably like a three week period where I was really going through coming up with questions, usually the harder part. It's like, I have a problem with researching and looking and prepping for folks, but I was like, how can I make this question the perfect question? And it was a little bit too much AI voice into what I was writing. And I was losing the me part of it, the part where I'm touching it. So true. So I think that that's a piece, but seeing when someone's working in a sort of tactile fashion with something, making something, creating something with their hands, that it's not going to be replicated. It just won't.

Maybe the ideas, maybe some of the stuff around it. But that's a thing that's pretty safe. You know, like I talk with, I talk with chefs on occasion. And I was like, yeah, culinary arts usually left out of the conversation, but it can be done in different degrees of artistry. I was like, you guys aren't going to be touched. I was like, no one's going to make me a steak using an algorithm. That's not happening.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: But yeah, I think what you were saying is, you know, who is using it? How and why? That's literally technology throughout forever, you know, since forever. And also, if you don't know your voice, like if you're an artist and you're using AI to help you maybe write for a grant, if you don't know your voice, it's not going to be that helpful for you. You have to know your voice first before you can use a tool, you know, to support you. So yeah, I hear you.

Rob Lee: And before I move to this next question, I also think about, have you ever seen, what is it, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood? So you may recall there's a part where Leonardo DiCaprio's character is kind of running lines with himself and he was recording it.

And I kind of use it for that at perp head times. I'm like, all right, this is, let's say I'm applying for a grant. This is the grant.

How does this work? Ask me questions that someone reviewing this based on this criteria would ask me. And that's just coming from me being a data analyst for like 13 years, right?

To know to use it in that fashion versus maybe someone that wouldn't think about using it as that sort of tool may use it as write this for me and make sure it wins. And here's a sample of what I'm doing. And it's like, oh, this doesn't sound like me at all. This doesn't sound like what I do at all. Totally. Yeah.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: But yeah, I mean, it's helpful because it holds you, it holds a mirror to you. And then it's on you, the human to understand where you sit in relation to these things. Absolutely.

Rob Lee: So one of the things I read, Future Talks, can we talk about that a little bit?

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Yeah. So I love Future Talks, but I can't get it. I can't say credit for it. So I'm going to give credit or credit as well. My business partner, Rebecca La Liberty. It's really been her baby this season together with our senior fair manager, Paulina Gordovitch. So they've really spearheaded the ideation of this and the partnership with ArtLogic. So Future Talks is our new conversations program that is supported by ArtLogic. We're very proud to collaborate with them.

This is the second year we're collaborating with them. And I really love ArtLogic because like us, they're interested in forward thinking solutions for the art world. And what they do is they provide a business management platform that is very comprehensive, that a lot of galleries are using this, as well as artists and collectors. So with Future Talks, it's featuring rising thought leaders in the art world.

So we're going to have artists and collectors and curators, dealers, funders and so forth. And maybe in other fairs that are more of like the main, the big fairs, you'll see very established voices. And then what I really love about this is you're going to see a lot of these up and coming voices coming together and having these think tanks together.

I did want to tell you about one talk actually that I think you and your listeners would find interesting that I'm really excited about. So it's called the Future Economy of the Artist Studio. And what's going to be discussed are things like how are artists sustaining their practices today? As traditional models of patronage and institutional support and market driven income continue to shift, artists are rethinking how their work is funded, produced and maintained.

Really, really interesting. So it's going to be moderated by Art Patron, Lisa Young, who is of the here and there collective. And on the panel, we'll have Bora Kim from Artadia, Pat and Hindle from The Knight Foundation.

And one of the artists that we're exhibiting with Court Tree Collective, whose name is Yisalina Minjong. And so that's going to be on Friday, May 15, 2026 at the fair at 4 p.m. But if you're not able to be there for it, you can catch it after the fair on ArtLogic's YouTube page. That and all the other talks will be uploaded there. So it's which is also really cool that we can, you know, reach an even wider audience with these conversations.

Rob Lee: Thank you. It's super interesting. I love that. I love sort of the vibe I get from future fair and being there multiple years at this point is this intimacy that's there, this accessibility. I can able to have a conversation with someone and seeing sort of the future talks, kind of engaging that conversation to sometimes fairs can be very busy, very noisy, very distraught. Hey, man, oh, that's some really cool work.

How are you doing, man? And I mean, I know there's I think the first one I went to, I saw multiple people and I was new at doing this podcast, right? Like relatively new.

And I was like, a bunch of people up here, I know. And I'm kind of missing the the art or missing the sort of opportunities to connect to maybe book for guests or maybe appreciate art or, you know, connect in a way. And, you know, fairs that I've gone to since, you know, maybe that first experience with future fair, I could really go back and look at it as a milestone point.

The intimacy struck stuck out for me, but it was like sort of New York and doing all of those different things that were new and novel. But going to fairs since I was like, oh, I learned a lot from future fair how to approach this to come there as a journalist, get sort of my interviews and book those things. But also learn a bit about art and engage in conversation with folks. I find that, you know, it was a fair that I went to last year. I was only there for 30 minutes, maybe 40 minutes, I booked eight interviews, something like that.

In the amount of time I was there and I was like, very efficient, very efficient. I got what I needed because I know it can be really big and fast paced and the bigger it is. But having something that's more intimate instead of sort of this really we're going for the biggest and the baddest.

I think you start to lose something with expansion. But if you're doing something that's intimate, you can still reach the people that you're supposed to reach and work with the people that you're supposed to work with. And it feels a bit more as the kids say intentional.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Yeah, that's really cool. I don't think just the kids say that. I think intentional is the best thing to bring into, you know, one of the best things to bring into your work. Yeah, that's great.

Rob Lee: I got a couple more questions and I think we've touched around this one a little bit. So let's go back to the business side of things. Like I see this in films. I see this in sort of what I do is the film that make a billion dollars in the first hour it came out. It's not successful.

If I didn't get all of the people to listen to the podcast, a billion downloads in the first hour's release is unsuccessful. And I think that's for people outside of it. So how is the test measured? First, sort of those smaller galleries, those newer artists, those sort of underrepresented artists, and like, you know, that don't maybe have that large collector base or a preexisting collector base or even that sort of social media base. Because I know some people use that as a metric now. How does the test look for sort of the folks that are exhibiting at Future Fair?

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, I think about this a lot. I've had this kind of conversation with a lot of galleries, especially if they're working with us for the first time. And this is like the business person in me is let's talk about ROI, like what's your return on investment? Because of course, you and we want to set up an environment that is going to support sales. You know, money is an important part of how art galleries function. But at the same time, there's the goal of a gallery is also to be building a cultural context for your artists. And that means, you know, wider exhibition placement for your artists, you know, which could be in nonprofits and museums. And with other galleries and other cities that you don't have networks within. That is, it's also means getting press for your artists and being involved in programming, you know, such as talks where your artists can be speaking about their work and in a deeper way with an audience. And it's a lot about building community, you know, community with other dealers where we see a lot of our exhibitors will go on and collaborate with each other outside of the fair.

We've seen a lot of our exhibitors go on and create their own fairs in their own cities. You know, it's been really, really cool to see all of all of this proliferating over the years. And yeah, I think that, you know, you want to find like minded dealers so that you can find those ways to collaborate and then grow together. And so you want to look at what that ROI is holistically. And then you also want to be going back to intentional about going after all of these things and not just focusing on one thing over the other thing because there this is why fairs are so special.

Is that all of these opportunities can happen and converge in these spaces. But then going back to the artist side of the question. And I would say for what we're talking about the market here and we're talking about fairs. I think it's really important to, you know, remember that selling your art is only one way to be a professional artist.

And the the role of the artist is very expansive and how you define your profession is going to be very bespoke to the individual. But again, I think it's a lot about finding community. I think it's about finding your niche and for, you know, many artists, it can feel isolating to make work in a vacuum when no community or other artists or thinkers to be in dialogue with. And community with people is how a lot of professional development happens for artists.

Many opportunities are not forced, but they're actually circumstantial. So artists, friends introduce each other to dealers, dealers introduce them to collectors, to journalists. A curator might come and see your work on in a group show or maybe they it comes up on their feed and Instagram. So, you know, if I'm talking to an artist and who says, how do I measure my success? I'd say, well, you know, do I have a lifestyle that sustains my art practice? And do I have a community that my work is in dialogue with? I think that those are like the baseline levels because market success for artists goes up and down and not every artist necessarily is going to want to engage in the market. They might have other ways that they want to be sharing their work and putting it out into the world.

Rob Lee: That's good. It's two things to come to mind before I move into this next question is, you know, the way that I look at this, like I look at the fact that people still want to be on here. You know, I don't look at purely the monetization. I look at purely the number of downloads because I understand the context around it.

I look at it more holistically, very similarly to when I look at opportunities, folks will lead with whether it be on the day job side of things. Here's your salary. It's like, what's the full package? What's the work arrangement? What are the benefits?

What are things like that that can come from this? Is this placement? So I can qualify that and I can turn that into a monetary value to compare. But really, you know, proximity matters to me. Flexibility matters to me.

Thanks to that nature. And even doing this, I like to do things that feel like it's fun, like having a conversation. Like there's not a, that's not a better way for me to spend a Thursday afternoon and talking to someone like you. Right. So that is a benefit for me in doing this.

But it was, if it was purely, Hey, you're going to talk to a bunch of people that we're going to choose for you that you really don't want to talk to. That's work. And it doesn't really fit what I care about.

I could do better things with my time. And lastly, because of the introductions and the nature of just folks and networking at these events, this is why, or these these sayers, this is why I make sure I'm dressed right because it's like, yeah, that's the tall guy with the dirty shirt on. You can't, I'm going to be introduced like that, especially when these are people. I don't want that. That's silly. That's silly. I got two, I got two more questions. I'm going to go into.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Everybody does their own thing though, which I love. I mean, I love that some people just want to like put on an outfit and glam up. That's amazing. But I also love that so many people are just like, I'm just going to show up what I, you know, what I was wearing yesterday. And then it's just like that there is that space for you. You be you, you know, so yeah, I'll share this with you.

Rob Lee: This is ridiculous. There was a film festival in Baltimore where I'm based a couple of years ago and I'm talking to some filmmakers and their movie is making this world premiere. And in Baltimore. And when they came here, you know, when we did the interview, I'm like, yeah, man, I'm going to wear like a cowboy hat and all denim. And the subjects of their movie were wearing cowboy hats and denim. And I described what I was going to wear and I hadn't seen the movie because we're a premiere. So I meet them the day of the festival, the day of the film festival.

I'm on this giant LED board and advertising for the podcast. And then they see me pull up six foot four with my cowboy hat on and denim. And they were like, you're dressed exactly like our lead character. That's so funny. And I was like, I was just trying to dress and glam it up. And he was like, also, you're on this billboard right here.

Do you just run Baltimore? I was like, no, no, they like me right now. That's so good.

Yeah, it's just what it is. You know, when you show up to these things, they would have those those real sort of connections. So I want to talk about some of the shifts. I think we touched on it a little bit and I did a little bit of research. I think I saw a video about Gen Z and millennials that you're featured in because I was doing my research. So I read that there's a shift towards younger collectors and in conversations on what's selling. And that's been like a downstream, perhaps downstream impact on maybe what's being made. Just depends on who you're talking to, I suppose. What shifts are you seeing, like maybe in the work that's being made or what's selling? And what do you attribute them to?

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Yeah, yeah. Well, I think it's always advantageous for an artist to have a bandwidth of price points for entry level to establish collectors. But I do think a lot of artists are thinking more contingently about this. And I know artists who, aside from there are more notable large scale works, which are at those higher price points. They're also making zines and prints and little art objects and smaller works, works on paper that are at more accessible prices. So, you know, I think creativity, you give an artist a problem and then they figure out a way that makes sense, resonates with them within it. And then it's not a problem anymore. It's just a new opportunity to find your expression and other ways to put your practice out into the world.

Rob Lee: Yeah, I like that. I like when it's the sort of diversified way of getting out like, this is my creative expression. I may do it in this way. I may do it in that way. And I may have it at this sort of price level, maybe just going to attract sort of this audience with these buyers. But, you know, there's a piece of me for everyone, you know.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Totally. And like, you know, I can't, I would love to, you know, be buying serious works all the time. But I can't and I don't. But I might go to an artist's studio and see a zine or a t-shirt that has the screen print of their drawing on it. And I'm like, that's one it. I'll take it right now, you know. So it just, there is such a range that you can find because artists are creating so many things. I love that.

Rob Lee: So here's the last one. And this is the, it's almost like a little bit of a plug, but then can close in as we land the ship here for the main questions. What's an experience an artist or an attendee can get from Future Fair where they can't get from elsewhere?

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Well, I love how every year I hear people that attend the fair, you know, they come up to me and they say to me, this is such an elevating experience.

I didn't know I needed this, you know. And it is really the power of art and community. But I do think that it also is our intentionality as a team and what we are producing and how we communicate that with, you know, from the moment you walk in through the door as an attendee, how we communicate that with our exhibitors is, you know what, we know that there's a lot of pressure.

There's a lot of investment here. We know that there's a lot going on the world outside of here, but let's all remember that we're going to come in and we're doing this for our artists. Let's try to have a great time, have fun, because if we can create that environment, a very warm, welcoming and open environment, that's going to create the space for dialogue. And ideally when that happens, then those opportunities that you want are going to come more easily.

So how do we create an environment to open those doors of opportunity? And that's so much about being present. And then in turn, what I hear, whether you're collecting or not, is, like, I had less feelings so happy and I feel so inspired. So yes, I'd say that that's what is the magic sauce of future fair.

Rob Lee: It's great. It's great. Let's get the sauce to close on the main questions and thank you. So I have four rapid fire questions. You don't want to overthink these. I was changing those. We talked a little bit beforehand because it was just like, yeah, so Yankees and Mets and it's like, you're not even in New York anymore.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: It's like, oh, I'm Dodgers.

Rob Lee: Oh, Connie, you have you. But so here's the first one. And this one is highly indexed on your, you know, nearly two decades of experiences. You know, the Art Fair Queen. I'm just going to give you that title. I don't know if you even ask for that title. I'm going to give you that title.

Yes. So what is the number one trait or maybe a handful, because sometimes number one is a little too restrictive. But what is the what is a handful of traits that make for a great art fair? The artists.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Yeah, I'd say good art. Sorry.

Rob Lee: That's a good answer. It's a good answer.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: That's got to be the top top, you know, 100%.

Rob Lee: So this might be a little inside baseball here against sticking with it. First hour, what do you prefer? First hour of the VIP preview or the last hour of the final day?

Rachel Mijares-Fick: I'm going to say the VIP preview of the pick between the two. But my favorite is probably like the fourth hour of the VIP preview. Okay. When like the drinks are kicking in.

Rob Lee: Okay. Okay. Yeah. Which kind of aligns into the next one. It's a little word or a little differently, but you know, this is a very busy time for just for folks, especially like ramping up for for the fair. So how do you keep a line? What is a restorative practice for you?

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Restorative practice for me is having a lot of balance between work and personal life, but also a good meditation practice. Okay.

Rob Lee: That's good. Now this is the last one I had to keep it in because you're going to be there soon. So we got to, you know, let's head back into your New York time. Subway or cab? Subway. So you get it.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Yeah. I stay with my childhood best friend in Crown Heights and it's, you know, it's an hour subway ride for me to get to work, but I love it. I just put on my music and I just, you know, listening into my headphones, feeling like I'm, you know, living that New York life again. I love that.

Rob Lee: I love it. I love it. Yeah. I think the first year I won up, I had never been up there by myself. My partner's from Brooklyn, like legit from Brooklyn. And I told her, I was like, yo, I got off of the train because I got my bees mixed up. I was supposed to go to Bed-Stuy.

I went to Bushwick and then I heard there's a place called the Brox. And she was like, what are you talking about? I was like, I don't understand if too many bees. I'm at a bodega.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: A lot of bees.

Rob Lee: She was just like, I'm going to call you back later. She's like, why you spiraled and figured out and I ended up taking an Uber.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Where, where, what part of New York is she from?

Rob Lee: She's from like Park Slope.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Okay, cool. I love that.

Rob Lee: It's just like, how did you, she's like, did you, did you have directions? I was like, I did. I didn't follow them. So yeah, I, but I, but I've since then I, I feel like I'm a little bit more inclined on the train and I make it a point to wherever I visit, if they have a train, whether it's Philadelphia, DC and in New York, I get my ass on that train. I get on the SEPTA. I get on the, the Metro.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: I get, I'm like, you, you're from Baltimore. You don't really have an excuse.

Rob Lee: I know it's, it's the colors. I don't know what to tell you. But yeah, I'm stubborn. So I want to move into the last thing I have for you. And this is the Sage like advice. We have a little fun with the rapid fire, but we go back into sort of this advice portion here and I want to pull back to curtain a little bit. What's a piece of advice you would give to an artist of someone unsure about their space in art that they wouldn't get from somewhere else?

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Well, you know, something I've been thinking a lot about lately is about the complexity of, and the challenge. There's a lot of complexity in the times we're living in and it's very challenging. And I'd say that for many, but I'd say that that's especially true for artists. And I think that this is because artists are conduits of the human experience.

They channel what's difficult to name and what is at stake. And I want artists to know that they are essential. When you see attention or debate or sometimes attempted control over books and schools or an artist half time show or how a country is represented in the Venice Biennale, these things wouldn't be such a big deal if art did not matter. So it's important to know that art does matter. And because that matters, artists are essential. Wow. That's really timely.

Rob Lee: That's very meaningful. I 100% agree. It's one of the things I do in the intros. I always coin that these are stories that matter. And often I'm talking to folks like you on these podcasts and there's value. It's so important.

So it's very well said. And I think we can close there. If there's nothing else to add, I want to do the actual shameless plug and close out here. So there's two things I want to do if we close out here, Rachel. One, I want to thank you for coming back on to the podcast. This has truly been a treat again, like a really swell time and good time to spend on a Thursday.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Yeah, so fun. Yeah. And secondly, thank you so much. You're welcome.

Rob Lee: And secondly, I want to invite and encourage you to share with the listeners just the final thoughts, final comments and tell folks where to get tickets and give them that sort of like, hey, get your butt in New York.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Yeah, definitely. OK, so if you're listening to this before we have our fair, it's going to be opening on May 13th and then it runs through, which is a Wednesday, and then it runs through Saturday, May 16th, 2026. It's taking place at Chelsea Industrial, which is on the corner of 28th and 11th in Chelsea, New York City. And yeah, you've got to come if you want to see all of this and more, everything that we've been talking about. But for your listeners, we're going to give a special discount code for the truth in this art podcast. And so it's going to be TITA 2026. For did I put that in? It's 30% off, right? Yes. OK, I could resay this if you want to.

Rob Lee: Yeah, let's go back from the beginning.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: We can go back because we gave you 30% off, but we gave somebody else 25% off this whole mix. So I was like, wait, I was just kidding.

Rob Lee: So I was like, 25, I was like, oh, I got 30. Yeah, thank you. I got away with it.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: I know, I know. It's just like there's a lot of, but yeah, you're getting the big one. But yeah, we can resay that. So why don't you start off with a question and then I'll catch you.

Rob Lee: So, so Rachel, if you have any further thoughts or comments around sort of Future Fair and given that sort of that shameless plug, tell folks where they can get tickets, where they can pull up the website, social media, just those final thoughts to have folks come to New York in May for Future Fair. Please, the floor.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Yeah, thank you. Yes. Well, a great way to follow us either way, whether you're going to be in New York or not. Follow us on Instagram at Future Fair's within S. Log on to our website, FutureFairs.com, sign up for our mailing list. We have incredible newsletters featuring so many stories of the artists and the dealers of the fair. I'm telling you, this is the newsletter you're going to be excited to open. And but then for those who can come to New York or are already in New York, put it on your calendar May 13th through the 16th. That's a Wednesday through Saturday, 2026. That's the fair is taking place at Chelsea Industrial, which is a ground floor venue on the corner of 20th and 11th.

And you know what? For your listeners, we're going to give a 30% off. So use the code TITA 2026. And then just you can I think it's going to be in the show notes, right? Super. So that's one place or you can go to FutureFairs.com to buy your tickets.

Rob Lee: Thank you so much, folks. Get on it. That is the TITA 2026 code for 30% off. I'm hoping to see you there. You'll hear the same message in the podcast as well. But thank you. And thank you, Rachel, for coming back onto the podcast.

Rachel Mijares-Fick: Thanks, Rob. It's good to see you. I'll see you in a few weeks.

Rob Lee: And there you have it, folks. I want to again thank Rachel Mahara Sick for coming back on to the Truth in Us Art to catch us up on the details for the sixth installment of FutureFair.

And for Rachel, I am Rob Lee, saying that there's art, culture and community. In and around your neck of the woods. You just have to look for it.