NY Arts magazine, The Broadway Gallery NYC and Beijing Gallery Scam

Ah the delight of getting an email waxing lyrical about your work and inviting you to participate in a New York art exhibition PLUS be included in the latest edition of NY Arts magazine.. (All for only $1,900!)

The email: 

Dear Ann,

I am pleased to inform you of an exciting opportunity to exhibit your artwork in New York City.

My name is Abraham Lubelski, the publisher of NY Arts Magazine, and owner of The Broadway Gallery NYC and Beijing Arts Space in China. Recently my staff came across your works while researching for upcoming projects, and by their recommendation I would like to invite you to exhibit your works in New York City in July 2011. I am interested in your work "The Diet" and I believe it would be an important addition to our program.  Your figures are so funny and so thought provoking and true at the same time. They show us so much of our reality through nice interpretations. By paying close attention to the intuitive works of each artist, we are hoping to construct an exhibition of works that truly speak to the viewer. 

The promotion/publicity project also offers an exhibition and an international publicity program for a fee ($1,900 see details below). This promotion/publicity is a media driven event and offers both emerging and established artists the broadest media coverage possible.

Sponsor: NY Arts Magazine & Art Fairs International

*Exhibit your work in the major art capital of the world.

*International media exposure/publicity on web & in print

*Two (2) catalogues within our magazines, with bookstore distribution, web, and print directories.

*3 million plus Internet hits per month (major Internet sites).

*Three major international print publications.

Thank you,

Abraham Lubelski

Publisher

NY Arts Magazine 

473 Broadway, 7th floor, NY, NY 10013 | 212-274-8993

However, I've been around long enough in the art world to sense SCAM. So I Googled it and lo and behold, the words 'Lubelski' 'NY Arts Magazine' and 'scam' appear together rather more often  than is comfortable. Certainly enough times to make me keep my cheque book in my handbag. So be warned, it appears this setup is just legal enough to allow it to continue to operate, but its not all it appears to be.

Here's some of the info I received:

“World Art Media in New York is absolutely a scam! They target impressionable naive artists thousands of dollars to be a part of NY Arts Magazine. The introductory fee is $500. But they charge thousands for articles and other silly projects like having one slide shown on a screen during an art fair for 0.5 seconds. Don't give into them..they will buy your soul and shame your artwork.” http://dart.fine-art.com/aqd-asp-im_108336-buy-m.htm

And from: http://www.helenansell.com/_blog/Blog/post/World_Art_Media_and_NYArts_magazine_a_scam!!/

And finally, after I out a few questions myself out on line, a anonymous person was kind enough to write to me and tell me what I really needed to know:

“Dear Helen I saw your question in the blog about NYArtmagazine and World Art Media. I worked for them, don`t make any agreement with, it's a scam company Wish you Good Luck a new yorker friend”

and then another email;

"Yes, World Art Media is a completely scam. Besides they deceive naive artists, they do the same with naive candidates who apply for a position.They promise you a high comission (10%) that you must achieve in a short period of 30 days(impossible goal for so short period) and a payment of $ 1,00 for each  e-mail you send. You must send 40 e-mails by day, besides research,( the time you spend looking for web sites of artists), what means that you work 8 hours non stop in front of a computer and in the end of the day you receive the fantastic amount of $40,00 dolars.After a month sending 800 e-mails and receiving the "huge" amount of $ 800,00 dolars for 160 hours of work,  without close any deal, of course! So, as you couldn't reach the "golden goal" of 10% comission, you are fired! After I left the company they post in craiglist at least one/two adds by month looking for a "energetic sales associate" with a promise of a great  earning based on comission,goal that you never will achieve in a periodo of a month. After 30 days you ended with a misery salary of $ 800,00 dolars and leave to them a big data base of artists around the world, this list they keep forever in their files.What a "great deal".! Better to get a job and work in Mac Donald's, so you can get a higher payment by hour(more than $ 40 dollars by day) making a mindless work and at least you won`t be working under stress, pressure and  won`t be deceive with promisses of high comission percentual, a impossible goal that you never will reach in a short period of 30 days."

And from another blog:

It appears World Art Media and NY Arts magazine (same company) send out thousands of unsolicited emails each month to artists on their websites promising art representation via online sources, publications, gallery shows etc. for a FEE. They do not advertise their fee on their website anymore, but I learned from other artists the fee starts at $500 and goes up from there to $4000 and $6000 depending on what they say they are doing for you.

World Art Media does publish your work in the NY Art magazine. However, it does not have the millions of viewers, buyers, and following that they claim. One New Yorker said it is sold only in the newstand down the street from their NY office.

NY Arts Magazine promises promotion, publicity and articles in their magazine and an art show in their gallery, 450 BROADWAY GALLERY, which, although it exists is in the inaccessible, interminable, unclimable 4th floor walkup at that address. The gallery isn't even listed on the local Gallery Guide. However, It is listed in, where else, the NY World Arts Magazine.

It is also my understanding, that even the so called 'Marketing Associates' get ripped off. Most of their positions are continually advertised on Craig's List. When they sign on, they are promised wonderful commissions. After working like crazy soliciting artists, they are not given these commissions. One guy wrote, that after working for World Art Media, he could have made more money had he been employed flipping hamburgers at McDonald's.

World Art Media seems to be just 'legit enough' to keep from getting arrested. However, they operate in an unethical manner. They don't tell the entire truth about what they can/will do for artists and actually charge you ridiculous fees for their services. This is not the kind of company I choose to do business with ever! My advice? Run.....run far away.