Art Fairs, to be or not to be

LA Art is going to happen in conjunction with the Armory in New York;
An adjunct Fair put together by a few seminal galleries - although it is unclear from the source whether these galleries didn't make the Armory cut.
But there is mention that LA galleries are under-represented at the famous New York Fair, so a few of our best are making their own. Shuttle & all.

This topic is ever-present: LA galleries are under-represented. (in publications, fairs, newspaper listings, federal budget allocations, community recoginition...)

Fairs are The thing to do if you own a gallery. They are The place to go if you are a collector.
I just find it odd that Fairs are so hot & so accepted. While all throughout the rest of the year galleries are putting on beautiful shows to get reviews, only to ship everything off to a giant - dare I say - corporate or practically swap meet setting.

On the other hand, it is so much work, so expensive - but the payoff is worth it.

Could it be outrageous to propose that the same amount of money spent on a fair be put toward mass art consumption on a street level?

Like, hop on a shuttle & see gallery exhibits.
See them the way the artist & the curator intended their work to be seen - for more than just an image on a convention center wall amongst the competition. (although NO one seems to mind the convention center aspect one bit- it's just the way it's done, & everyone seems OK with it.)

Perhaps a fantasy, I know. Especially for such a spread out city as LA, with such an enormous selection of galleries.