September 2006
Rapid relocation
Art Chicago abandoned its outdoor venue and moved to The Merchandise Mart in just 72 hours

By Cathy Chatfield-Taylor

On a stormy Monday in April, three days before the 14th annual Art Chicago was scheduled to open under a tent in Grant Park, the show’s founder put out an SOS. Chicago’s longest-running contemporary art fair was foundering. Financial and labor woes had come to a head, and the organizer was running out of cash and running out of time.

Merchandise Mart Properties Inc. (MMPI, www.merchandisemart.com) answered the call to save the show, and so seized an opportunity.

“When Tom Blackman called us, he was having a hard time,” says Chris Kennedy, President of the Chicago-based trade show and property management firm. “We immediately went into the mode of, ‘How do we bail him out and save Chicago from an embarrassing moment?’”

Within 24 hours, Kennedy had assigned teams to execute a three-prong plan: negotiate a buyout, relocate the show and advertise the new venue. Lawyers drafted an agreement to purchase Art Chicago from Thomas Blackman Associates, as well as new contracts for the 105 art dealers exhibiting in the 125,000 square foot show, scheduled to run from Fri., April 28 to Mon., May 1, 2006. Terms of the acquisition were undisclosed.

Meanwhile, MMPI Senior Vice President Mark Falanga ruled out new locations at Navy Pier and a nearby warehouse. The best option was to co-locate Art Chicago with the 9th annual Chicago Antiques Fair, held in 200,000 square feet — roughly one half — of the Merchandise Mart’s eighth floor.

“We had to get a design firm to layout the floor analogous to what Tom had designed, so all the exhibits would fit,” Falanga says. “It’s not a pipe-and-drape show. It’s 8-foot hard wall with artistic lighting.”

By Wed., April 26, nearly 350 people from throughout MMPI were working on the operational and advertising logistics:
• Marketing communications blasted out 40,000 e-mails; placed ads in print, radio and outdoor media; re-created the show Web site; and printed and delivered 15,000 show directories.
• Public relations handled 135 media requests, arranged dozens of interviews and generated more than 100 articles and announcements.
• Meeting planning arranged signage and transportation to get an estimated 10,000 Art Chicago visitors to The Mart and ordered enough additional catering to make their stay enjoyable.
• Trade show registration answered hundreds of phone calls to provide reassurance and directions.
• Exhibitor services worked around the clock while dock personnel received shipments for 27 hours straight.
• Craftsmen worked up to 35 hours straight to construct exhibits, paint walls, run cable and set up artistic lighting.

At 6 p.m. Thurs., Art Chicago and Chicago Antiques Fair opened for a preview party with 3,000 guests. The next day, when they opened to the public at 11 a.m., staff were stationed at Butler Field to redirect any wayward visitors to The Mart, about three miles away.

Given the “near monsoon” conditions that weekend, the 21,600 attendees at the combined, four-day event exceeded expectations. In 2005, Art Chicago drew about 15,000 art lovers, while the antiques fair had about 8,000 shoppers.

The total cost of this Herculean effort remains to be tallied. “I’ve been signing a lot of purchase orders, and they’re all big numbers,” Falanga says. “But in the context of an acquisition price, the production cost for one year is not that relevant.”

In 2007, MMPI will give Art Chicago the entire 7th Floor, where it can grow to become an international art event that creates lasting impact for Chicago art dealers.