The Artifice: Mission Statement
The Artifice exists to build cultural gravity through risk, rigor, and deliberate authorship.
Founded in Atlanta by artist, curator, and designer Thomas Arthur Schaefer—whose three decades of exhibiting and decade of curatorial practice inform its direction—The Artifice began as an experimental exhibition program and has evolved into an artist-led, governance-driven institution committed to presenting bold, unconventional contemporary work. From its earliest transformations of brewery walls and overlooked spaces into temporary galleries, The Artifice has operated on a simple belief: meaningful art requires both courage and structure.
We champion risk—not as spectacle, but as necessity. The next generation of ideas, forms, and movements emerge from artists willing to test boundaries materially, conceptually, and culturally. The Artifice creates conditions where that testing is supported, contextualized, and respected.
Today, The Artifice functions as a mobile and adaptive curatorial platform, activating spaces across Atlanta and beyond through thematic exhibitions, cross-disciplinary programming, and collaborative dialogue. We operate with transparent governance, responsible market practices, and a below-market commission model designed to balance sustainability with artist-centered values. Our role is not simply to host exhibitions, but to provide professional stewardship—from presentation to transaction—while maintaining the integrity of artistic vision.
As we look forward, our mission expands from presentation to permanence. The Artifice is intentionally developing the structural foundation for a lasting cultural entity, including the thoughtful development of a collection that reflects the intellectual and material evolution of our programming. Collection development at The Artifice is not speculative accumulation; it is a deliberate act of preservation, scholarship, and continuity. Institutional memory strengthens artistic ecosystems.
Rooted in Atlanta yet unconstrained by geography, The Artifice acknowledges its local responsibility while remaining open to broader cultural engagement. The city is our proving ground, not our limit.
We are committed to:
• Supporting artists through ethical stewardship, professional presentation, and sustained partnership
• Cultivating collectors and audiences through education, access, and curatorial depth
• Building governance structures that ensure transparency, accountability, and longevity
• Developing a collection strategy that contributes to the preservation and progression of contemporary artistic practice
The Artifice is more than a gallery. It is a living framework for cultural production—balancing experimentation with discipline, independence with responsibility, and immediacy with long-term vision.
We do not operate as a temporary project. We are building something intended to endure.
Adopted March 1st, 2026
The Artifice Gallery LLC