Amplify with Alexandra Steinacker-Clark | Two Generations of Artistic Directors: Amanda Coulson and Lee Cavaliere on VOLTA Art Fair
VOLTA Basel 2015
This month, I had the special privilege of speaking to two of the most influential people, past and present, on the VOLTA team: Amanda Coulson, co-founder of VOLTA and previous artistic director for 16 years, and the current artistic director of the fair, Lee Cavaliere. They shared so much with me, including their roles and responsibilities (and how that has changed throughout the years), how socio political and economic circumstances affect their job, and their outlook for the future. Read the interview below to prepare for your visit to VOLTA, viewing the fair through a new perspective of awareness for the passion and work that goes into something like this!
Alexandra Steinacker: Amanda, I'd like to start with you. Can you tell me what your role consisted of as artistic director, and how both you and the fair changed throughout 16 years?
Amanda Coulson: My role evolved significantly. When Volta started in 2005, it was three men and me - I was doing press, VIP relations, and production. I'd come from being an art critic and writer, so I knew the press world well. We were literally up ladders hammering in booth signage - it was completely DIY in the beginning.
For the first two years, I was essentially “VIP-Press-General Dogsbody” with no official title. Then I became executive director in around 2007, and in around 2011, I transitioned to artistic director.
As artistic director, you're focused on what you want the experience to be for visitors. It's about selecting galleries, visiting spaces, looking at work. The executive director role is more production-heavy - dealing with contractors, lighting, air conditioning. But as artistic director, you're asking: What's the content? What voices are we not serving? Which audiences are we missing?
VOLTA Basel at Markthalle 2015
Alexandra: How did societal, political, and economic circumstances define how you approached the fair?
Amanda: The 2008 economic collapse was a major turning point. We had just secured the Markthalle in Basel - this huge dome - and our main sponsor pulled out. We had to jam it full of more galleries, which wasn't successful because a satellite fair with more than 90 galleries is really hard to manage. You lose that "we're all in it together" feeling.
We got creative, and we encouraged galleries to share booths, which wasn't common then. We organized consolidated shipping to reduce costs. The fairs became more regional too, so that New York became heavily American and Canadian, while Basel focused on Europe and Asia.
Alexandra: Lee, if we are looking at these societal changes in the current climate, how has your approach differed in the post-COVID art market?
Lee Cavaliere: We're still definitely doing all of what Amanda established. The collegiate atmosphere remains, and what's interesting is that we're seeing a generational moment in which established galleries are getting comfortable - maybe dare I say too safe - and then these new young galleries come in doing things they haven't done for years. It reinvigorates everyone.
Post-COVID, the personal touch matters more than ever. People expect you to be present. I had a collector tell me she'd been doing fairs for two decades and had never met an artistic director before! I personally never leave the floor.
We've got galleries from 29 different countries this year, each showing diverse programs. Because we're only just over 70 galleries, I can have conversations with every single one. Before we get to the exhibition stage, with every application that comes in, if it's not an outright mismatch, the conversation begins. I ask: Why are you showing this work? What's your plan? Who are you representing? What are you coming to Basel for?
Alexandra: What criteria do you use in choosing galleries that will fit together?
Amanda: We had a curatorial committee and we tried different approaches throughout the years. Sometimes we did scoring systems, other times it was blind reviews without gallery names or cities. But one thing I will say is that if everyone gave a gallery a three out of five, you got a bland fair in the end. If some gave fives and others gave ones, that created healthy discussion. Sometimes you wanted the ones!
It's often belly feel. Galleries wanted to know what we were looking for, but I wasn’t looking for the gallery that happens to represent a famous artist. We wanted galleries that discovered artists, that were fresh. My job wasn't to present art I personally liked - it was to present variety. I find conversations interesting when you put hardcore body art next to street art.
Lee: I have a different experience with committees, as I have found that often the loudest voice wins. The way we do it now is that applications come through me first, then I consult my advisory committee. They're not all from the art world, which is great. We have diplomats, collectors, gallerists, financiers, artists… They help me understand what I don't know.
I reach out to my network constantly. If it's a New York gallery I don't know, I'll ask our New York team. The advisory board helps me understand which museums might be interested, who should be brought in to see the work. It's about admitting what I don't know and using the network to fill those gaps.
VOLTA Basel 2011
Alexandra: How do you engage diverse audiences while maintaining artistic integrity?
Lee: It starts with diversity in the galleries themselves. If you want engagement from diverse voices, you must show diverse voices. That goes back to the application process - seeking out people who aren't being properly represented.
I hate the word "emerging" because it's overused and uninterrogated. What does "access to the market" even mean? To open these questions, we're doing a talks program in Basel about geopolitics, ‘how’ galleries actually do emerge, and the role of women in the market. We have a larger proportion of female-led galleries and female-identifying artists, not deliberately necessarily, but it was just the good work we wanted to show.
The wonderful thing about VOLTA is it's agile enough to accept the times we're living in today, not last year or next year. People come to find something new and ask: What does this mean to me personally and globally?
Alexandra: Can you share a memorable moment that encapsulates the spirit of the fair?
Amanda: We always tried to make you feel like you were actually in the city. In Basel, we had speedboats shuttling people from Liste (another art fair in Basel) down the Rhine. In New York, we were opposite the Empire State Building. You're not in some anonymous convention center - you're experiencing the place.
One core memory was that Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson did a durational performance in a former railway signal shed. Someone in their underwear playing bass guitar for four days in the rain. People would arrive soaking wet after the performance, laughing their heads off. That captured our spirit perfectly.
Lee: This year, because it's our 20th anniversary, we have Friday as a free day for Basel locals. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive - people feel welcomed and honored. We're sponsored by Brändli Confeserie, the local chocolatier, so the first to come get the best Swiss chocolates on entry!
What I love most is how collaborative the galleries are. Last year we had a special section for first-time galleries at reduced prices. Throughout the week, they created a new community - people from Miami working with people from Lagos. Several are now sharing artists and working together. Five or six have "graduated" to the main floor. Seeing that nurturing actually work is very special.
Alexandra: Looking ahead, what innovations are you excited to implement?
Lee: I want to be more innovative in making it accessible for younger galleries and artists, because Basel is expensive. I've got strategies for next year with a great working title I can't share yet… But mainly, I want to stay small. Maybe to grow to 80 galleries, but that’s the maximum. Our venue has space for more large-scale sculpture, installation, and performance, so I am looking to make it an active, conversational space. The key is staying curious, staying fresh, enjoying it, and really listening. That's the only way things carry on.
VOLTA Basel 2018