CreateCollect lives by the code, abides by four principles, and never strays: if you love contemporary art, you should own it; there shouldn’t be any barriers to collecting or experiencing great art; to be online is to be free; and offer a marketplace that is intimate, personal and simple to use.
Founded in Brooklyn and expanded to Miami in 2013, curators Laura Cartagena and Sarah MK Moody launched CreateCollect.com as a forum for showing contemporary art at below gallery prices. As sites such as Artsy and Artnet seek to create a space that meets the needs of both artists and collectors, the Internet has become a democratic alternative in making art accessible to a broader range of audiences.
“Being online grants us the freedom to host periodical pop-up gallery shows and exciting events nationwide,” said Cartagena and Moody, who regularly produce pop-ups and shows between New York and Miami. “We scour the globe - and the depths of the Internet - to find hidden gems and knockout masterpieces by emerging talents.”
Video diaries, studio visits and photo-essays pepper CreateCollect’s website, giving works by 20-some artists, artisans and designers an especially inviting quality of transparency. And the prices help too. “Our creative community connects lovers of art with creators of art.”
Connect with featured artists including Aaron Hill, who is currently shooting in South America (the work will be available on CreateCollect.com this summer), and Jess Underwood, Yuri Tuma, Jessy Nite and Marilyn Rondon. New to the marketplace roster are Dakota Sica and Jennifer May Reiland.
