More on ATC's

I didn't realise it had been so long since I'd posted. Anyway I thought I would explain a little more about ATC's for those people who haven't heard of them.

Although miniature works of art created on cards have been around for centuries, the modern day concept of ATC's was conceptualized by artist m. v"anci stirnemann in 1996. In May 1997, stirnemann held a gallery showing of 1,200 cards at the INK. art & text bookstore in Zurich, Switzerland, for which he collaborated with artists Cat Schick and Gido Dietrich. Those attending the show were told that if they wanted to acquire a card that was on display they should bring one of their own creations to trade for it. A movement was then born that denounced the tradition of critiquing and appraising art, and embraced the process of one artist connecting with another.

One attendee at the first trading session was Canadian Don Mabie (Chuck Stake). Mabie was so impressed by the concept of artists sharing with one another in this way that he brought the idea home with him to Calgary and held the first North American trading session at The New Gallery in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The First International Biennial of Artist Trading Cards included 80 artists from ten different countries and took place in September 2000.

In person trading sessions quickly spread from The New Gallery across Canada and the United States,and interest continues to spread across the globe. While it is always conducive to the trading culture to trade cards in person there are also multiple opportinities for trading over the internet through various groups.

Artist Trading Cards or ATC's as they are commonly referred to, encompass all types of media. The format for this art form is of a small nature: 2.5" x 3.5" (6cm x (cm), the size of a playing card. The number one steadfast rule of ATC's is they should never be sold. Selling diminishes the true sense of sharing and community among artists. Trading is just that - sharing your art with others for no other reason than wanting to gift a piece of yourself to another.

# This information was found in the book Artist Trading Card Workshop by Bernie Berlin.

# The ATC posted is one by Vicky Phelps for the monthly swap titled "When I grow up".