A New Arts Destination
Near Marfa Quietly Takes Shape
By Jacoba Urist
Marfa, Texas, has long been an excursion for fans of the artist Donald Judd’s minimalism. The town is home to the Judd Foundation, which maintains Judd’s living and work spaces, and the Chinati Foundation, a museum created by the artist.
But for the last year, Michael Phelan — a contemporary artist who has lived in Marfa full time since 2014 — has been quietly planning another destination within miles of both sites: Marfa Invitational, an interdisciplinary, year-round arts and cultural foundation, set on five acres of high desert.
Marfa, Texas,
To Welcome New Cultural Center
Michael Phelan, founder of the two-year-old insider arts fair Marfa Invitational, is planning to open an arts foundation by that name in Marfa, Texas, this fall, the New York Times reports; the arts fair will be rebranded simply as the Invitational. The Marfa Invitational will be open year-round, and will host a variety of events across disciplines, including art installations, performances, film and video screenings, fashion shows, and talks. It will occupy an exhibition space comprising twin pre-engineered steel structures, each with 150 feet of aluminum and glass doors that can be rolled up to give visitors an open-air experience.
“After a yearlong hiatus from day-to-day life as we previously understood it- 'human connection', along with our relationship to and with Art, is more relevant than ever. Given, Marfa Invitational's Vision and Mission is that of transporting visitors 'In real life'- where one's human experience- physical, intellectual, and emotional- is fluid and ever expansive.” -Founder, Michael Phelan