Supermarket days -2 and -1
As soon as I arrive at this apartment time begins to collapse and it is as if Supermarket 2023 was yesterday. Arriving at the venue on Monday morning, greeting my colleagues, seeing the logo, feeling the fair starting to take shape only serves to amplify the sense of familiarity … we talk about the Supermarket family … and after fourteen years of involvement I am definitely a part of the family.
Supermarket has become the most familiar thing that I do … and I guess in the way of families it is always the same and always different … it is a living and evolving thing … and I love it – I love being a part of it.
My fourth year as Meetings coordinator and I am finding my stride, there’s still an underlying sense of being a fraud … and that will probably always be there … I just pay it less attention and get on things. So the rooms are almost set-up, one with the usual anonymous ’event hire’ plastic table and chairs, and one – new for 2024! – with sofa and chairs borrowed from a local charity shop. This cosy room is very much inspired by my trip to the Juxtapose fair in Aarhus. Yesterday afternoon I saw that the room was occupied but a group of exhibitors. I wondered what they were talking about however I didn’t want to intrude … I was happy that they found the space inviting and conducive to discussion.
It is lovely spending time with John – if ease of conversation after a period of absence is a measure of friendship then we are indeed very good friends. I could arrive at the fair at least a day later than I do – I don’t have so much that requires me to be on-site for two full days before the first exhibitor event – though if I were to do this I would miss out on all that ’soft’ stuff that gives me so much … time with John as he/we sets up the exhibitors lounge, those warm hugs and exchanges with exhibitors who I have gotten to know over the years, being there to help with things when someone else needs a pair of hands – yesterday working with Alice to install work in a booth were the exhibitors themselves were unable to come even though the ’exhibits’ had already been sent (from Australia).
I had a good chat with Antonie – who like me always has so much going on. I had been hoping that she would be at the fair in one capacity or another I had recently seen that she is working with a young commercial gallery and I wanted to know more. Within minutes she was saying that we should definitely meet with the gallery owner/director and that she had already mentioned me on several occasions. I saw that Antonie is with the gallery when I was looking for information about artworks that a colleague at Region Uppsala had bought – two artists who the region has recently bought something from are with the gallery … I am of course very intrigued and excited by the idea of meeting the gallery owner … knowing that Antonie is with them is a great stamp of approval, knowing that my colleagues buy from them only adds to my interest.
Last night I did something playful, adventurous, brave(?), fun … spurred on by the excitement of the fair I bought tickets for a trip to New York in late August. I am going to go see this year’s Met Fashion Exhibit – Sleep Beauties which will be a once in a life time opportunity to see pieces from their fantastic archive. I still can’t quite believe that I did it … but I did! Something in me has shifted and I have found a ’lust for life’ … a desire ’to let the crazy out’ …
