Having your work at an art fair such as The Affordable Art Fair should be a huge honour and a notable feather in an artist’s cap. Although often chaotic, for us artists the art fair is an unrivalled selling opportunity. It’s also a chance to see your work on display on an international platform.
So, art fairs. What an eclectic mix of different artworks, brought from all corners of the globe! What a golden opportunity to engage with gallerists who are all too often out of sight and out of mind in their own galleries; these are the ones who selected to represent this work and can explain to the public why one’s art is so vital today. Galleries (peculiarly) often don’t know how to sell work anymore –so keen are the staff to maintain the elitist attitude that makes most of us feel as if we don’t belong, that they all too often ignore the very people they should be selling to whilst checking their Facebook pages. Art Fairs are an opportunity for the same horn-rim spectacled, suited and booted gallerists to don a smile and a friendly hand shake, allowing Average Joe to freely ask about the back story of an artist and learn more about the work that has caught their eye. People short of time adore an art fair as you can effectively visit 100 or so international galleries in an afternoon. Mums and Dads love it because the kids are welcomed with a bevvy of creative activities as well as a crèche.
For many artists, The Affordable Art Fair is where they have made their art fair debut, and the success of the fair is evident in the number of sister events that the original AAF in Battersea has spawned. Since 1999, AAF has become a global phenomenon with 18 fairs in 14 cities across four continents.
The Affordable art fair in Hampstead (which happens 12th – 15th June) was launched in 2011 by Artist-turned-Art Fair Director Romy Westwood, and is housed in the beautiful environs of Hampstead Heath. The purpose of the fair is at logger heads with the elitist attitude of many London galleries – Hampstead AAF’s attitude is ‘we want to make contemporary art as accessible as possible. We are going to come to you by visiting your local park, and offer to you an exclusive look at today’s most exciting, cutting edge art in an unintimidating and lively setting’. The Affordable Art Fair is keen to show itself as a friendly organisation, displaying short biographies of every member of their team on their website (most of whom are graduates of art history or Fine Art degrees, and a large portion still work as artists in their spare time). They are keen for the AAF to always be a special event that is fun for all the family – indeed, they have been known to bring ghostly ghouls in to the mix when the fair was held over Halloween. But all this fun and games isn’t for nothing – last year at Battersea the AAF saw 22,500 visitors walk through the doors over 4 days, purchasing a total of £4.2m worth of art, all of which is priced between £40 and £4000.
The Affordable Art Fair, although approachable and non-elitist, is still a fair for galleries, rather than artists, so if you are an artist who is interested in having work there then you will either need to discuss it with your gallery (if you have one) or consider approaching a gallery with view to them taking your work to the fair. If you fall into the latter category, I urge you to visit Hampstead AAF this 12th-15th June and simply have a look. Would your work sit well in any of the stands? If so make a note of which so that you can visit their websites and potentially make contact. Plus it’s always interesting to see current trends in the visual arts – have a look at what new processes you see in works that you might like to try yourself. As well as being an excellent platform for new art the AAF host an array of talks and workshops on site – another way of finding inspiration and ensuring that you leave at the end of the day with a head overflowing with ideas.
The next UK Affordable Art Fair takes place in Hampstead on 12th – 15th June 2014. More information here.
The Bristol Affordable Art Fair takes place on the 19th -21st September 2014. More information here.
The Battersea Affordable Art Fair takes place on the 23rd – 26th October. More information here.
Two artist friends took part in the Battersea AAF a few years ago. Both sold. When it came to payment time both galleries representing them were ‘unable’ to pay and went out of business.
Artists beware. There are probably good galleries but there are certainly con-men Ripping off naive artists.