Historically, New Yorkers have been among the foremost collectors of tribal art. New York politicians, artists, business leaders, professionals, fashion moguls and celebrities such as Helena Rubinstein, Nelson Rockefeller, Andy Warhol, John Friede, Armand Arman and Robert Mapplethorpe have solidified the international tribal art market.

Traditional Art from Africa, Oceania and the Americas found it's way into collections of the New York avant-garde and its most influential patrons during the 1910s and 1920s.

For 18 years there was only one New York tribal art show, the New York Tribal & Textile Arts Show, founded in 1995 by Caskey Lees event promotors.

Over the years the venue changed from the Park Avenue Armory to the Downtown Armory to J Suites in Midtown. In 2010 Caskey Lees canceled the event after lack of dealer participation.

(New York Tribal and Textile Arts Show Will Not Take Place in 2010 (For Immediate Release, March 12, Topanga, CA) The New York International Tribal and Textile Arts Show, normally held in New York City in conjunction with Tribal and Ethnographic auctions at the city’s major auction houses in late May will not take place this year, show producers Caskey-Lees of Topanga, CA, announced today.)

After receiving the cancelation press release via email, D. Cassera, a young New York dealer who was learning to navigate the complex heirarchy of the Tribal Art world, presented the new Tribal Art Week concept which has been constantly evolving ever since.

"The 2010 Caskey Lees NY Tribal Art Show would have been my first fair as a dealer. I was heartbroken when I found out it had been canceled. I recieved the email while I was working on my publication out of a gallery just off Madison, my mind was racing thinking of what I could do. I lived on the upper west side just across the park so I took the bus home and stayed up all night drawing a map and making a booklet for the new event. I called it the Madison Avenue Promenade and it consisted of various galleries from 57th Street all the way to 82nd and it included Sotheby's and Bonhams. This idea was based on the Asia Week model," Cassera said.

The ultimate goal of the NYC Tribal Art Week model was to have several different venues hosting many differnet dealers because there is not a single venue in the city that can accommodate the cost of production for one large show. In 2010, Cassera contracted with the Ukrainian Fletcher Sinclair Mansion on 79th Street and the Arader Mansion on Madison Avenue but could not sell enough dealers on the idea. Cassera was able to secure other Madison Avenue venues to house visiting dealers however. Mallett, a prestigious antique furniture dealer from London hosted a famed dealer from Spain, and Kesler Pop Art Gallery hosted two Pre-Columbian art dealers

In 2011, Cassera moved to the west coast and the Madison Avenue Promenade was renamed AOANY, and the Ukrainian Fletcher Sinclair Mansion was finally added as a central venue. Some dealers rented townhouses or set up in hotels to try and be a part of the scene.

There were many dealers who wanted to participate in the 2012 New York Tribal Art Week but there was minimal space in the Fletcher Sinclair Mansion. As a result Cassera returned to New York and rented the Czech Embassy or Bohemian National Hall for the NYC Tribal Art Show 2012. At the same time another group started a show at the Arader Mansion called the Madison Ancient & Tribal Art Show.

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next several years in this ever changing New York Tribal Art world.

NEW YORK TRIBAL ART WEEK 2013

When: Second Week in May

Where: Sotheby's, Bonhams, Madison Avenue area, 57th Street