Hasta La Ideas

The correct answer, of course, is cash. Lots and lots of cash. It comes in handy whether you’re coveting Gilbert & George postcards ($27,275 a pop at Lehmann Maupin‘s Armory Show booth), a swath of Chilean artist Iván Navarro‘s neon “Armory Fence,” or, over at the Art Dealers Association of America’s Art Show, the candy-colored flotsam of Jessica Stockholder. And while the whirl of New York art fairs offers plenty in the way of visual stimulation and free champagne, don’t be fooled: it’s a jungle out there. That’s where 20×200 comes in. The booming “art for everyone” enterprise of UnBeige editor emeritus Jen Bekman has created an Art Fair Survival Kit (pictured), a fetching cotton tote stocked with everything the savvy fairgoer needs—save the aforementioned stockpile of large, unmarked bills—to make it through all 11 fairs and still have time to catch a few gallery happenings and museum shows (and save room for a multisensory culinary intervention!). Among the goodies we found in our kit: a handy West Elm tape measure, event guides, a pep-restoring illy cappuccino beverage, Altoids (never underestimate the importance of fresh breath while negotiating!), and a folded-paper “fortune teller” to aid the indecisive. Our favorite survival aid? The Map of the 2011 New York Art Fairs, drawn for 20×200 by San Francisco-based artist Wendy MacNaughton. And if you’re looking for something a little more precise, consult the Google Maps version here.

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