For nine  exciting days, October 15-23,2009, Art Off The Main: The African, Caribbean and Latin American Art Fair, the acclaimed annual exhibition that has for the  past five years provided curators, seasoned collectors and novices the opportunity to view and collect paintings, sculpture, photography and original prints from over 20 countries, will be staged online at www.artoffthemain.com  .

Art Off the Main, the trend-setting art fair, was conceived in 2004 as a vehicle to present quality, affordable art by emerging and established artists from regions and cultures traditionally underrepresented in other art fairs.   It is the first fair ever to showcase the combined works from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America, three regions which share common historical, ethnic and political experiences. This fair has become a beacon of diversity, a place of discovery, a source of inspiration and a stimulus for other art fairs.

According to Loris Crawford, the fair’s producer,  “the impact of the economic crisis on the banking, housing, automotive and other sectors have been widely covered. One story still untold is the impact on the art market in general, but specifically the ethnic art market. All major art fairs showcasing works by artists of color have announced cancellations.   We recognized the trend of declining art sales in our segment and in October 2008, made the decision to stage an online version of the fair in 2009.  It is important that our artists have a continued presence in the market, and we are committed to ensuring this. The Black art market has made major strides in the past two decades and we cannot allow those gains to disappear.  If our art industry is to survive, we must maintain a presence in bad as well as good times”

Art Off The Main has brought to the American public, the broad spectrum of Caribbean art and has served to change public perception of Caribbean art, transforming the widely-held view which equated Caribbean art with tourist curios.

Art Off The Main is produced by Loris Crawford, the Caribbean-born visionary, founder and Director of Savacou gallery, and a pioneer in the promotion of Caribbean art.