Curator Kelly Shelley Opens Up To Me About The Best of the Best Cover Artists Show and Cocktail Party
The Best of the Best Cover Artists Show and Cocktail Party sponsored by Dan’s Papers is taking place August 20th from 6 to 9 p.m. at Season’s of Southampton. My friend Kelly Shelley (married name, and no she doesn’t like it when I do Julia Gulia jokes) is curating the entire event. Kelly knows detailed information about every single artist that is participating, and I can tell you, that is a lot of artists. kelley prepares the five finalists for the cover art of Dan’s Papers and then Dan makes his decision on the final cover, so I figured she would be a good person to talk to this afternoon.
Me: What does a curator do exactly?
Kelly: Basically I’m responsible for picking the artists for the show and overseeing where the art is hung in the building and also, hopefully to help sell the art. According to wikipedia, a curator is a “Keeper of cultural heritage,” so I guess that’s me. I have to make sure which art goes into the event. I’m like the guard of the art.
Me: That sounds like a tough job.
Kelly: It’s not that tough because I enjoy it. Sometimes it gets me a little nervous, but you just got to stay calm.
Me: Are you happy with the venue this year?
Kelly: Yes. Very much so. It’s gorgeous at Seasons of Southampton.
Me: Why are we putting on this show?
Kelly: Well, a big part of Dan’s Papers is our cover artists and we decided that we wanted to honor them with this show.
Me: Has anybody tried to like, bribe you to get into the show?
Kelly: Lol, no bribes, but I’ve been getting a lot, and I mean a lot of phone calls from artists. It’s amazing what an honor it is for an artist to be a part of this show.
Me: Do you think it will be fun for guests to come check out this show?
Kelly: Yes, we have a good eclectic group of artists in a great atmosphere and of course there will be wonderful food.
Me: Who are some of your favorite artists?
Kelly: David! I can’t tell you that!
Me: Sorry, I thought I’d sneak it out of you. Is there anything that you are excited about?
Kelly: We are going to have a signed original sketch of Stan Goldberg’s Dan’s Papers cover from 1995. Stan Goldberg is the guy behind “Archie” Comics, very cool.
Me: The “Archie” guy! That’s awesome.
Kelly: Yes Dave, it’s awesome.
Alright, so you get the drift. It is going to be a really great show with a really great group of Dan’s Papers cover artists and you should go. Tickets to the show are $80 and can be bought by visiting www.danshamptons.com/artshow. You can also buy some of the art there and much of the proceeds from the event will benefit “The Ellen Hermanson Breast Center at Southampton Hospital”