Hasta La Ideas

Mayor Michael Bloomberg addresses members of the press at the 24th annual Art Show as artist Sarah Sze looks on. (Photo: UnBeige)

It’s Armory Arts Week in New York, with a dozen art fairs opening today and tomorrow throughout the city. According to the number crunchers at the office of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, all the art action—during what is typically a slow time for tourism—will draw approximately 80,000 visitors and generate $55 million in economic activity. Looming largest on the ever-growing fair landscape are, of course, the Armory Show, which opens to the public tomorrow over on Piers 92 and 94, and the the Art Dealers Association of America’s Art Show, which kicked off yesterday at the Park Avenue Armory with a gala preview. Confused yet? Not to worry, Bloomberg has a handy mnemonic device that will help you keep your Armories straight. “Get this—write it down! The Art Show hangs in the Armory on Park, and the Armory Show is parked in a hangar on the river,” he said gleefully at a press conference held yesterday. “You have to work very hard to get that right, but we did it.” Bloomberg credited his speechwriter with the wordsmithing. “I’m so proud of this,” he added later, before repeating the catchy sentence. The mayor addressed members of the press standing before the booth of Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, which is featuring the intricate assemblages of New York-based Sarah Sze. Bloomberg invited Sze, whose work is also currently on view at Asia Society, to join him at the podium. “Sarah is going to exhibit at the Venice Biennale next year. Anybody wanna go?” he asked the crowd. “Yeah, me too.”

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