With the ever increasing numbers of art fairs, a new term (Fairtigue) has been coined by the art world to reflect this. According to The Art Newspaper, Art dealers and connoisseurs, gallery owners and even journalist are struggling to keep up with the exponential growth of art fairs around the world.
With this in mind and my love for the varieties art fairs have to offer. I have pulled together a list of London art fairs worth visiting in 2015. If you are looking for something different to the mainstream major art fairs, this is the post for you. I have based this selection on three factors. Uniqueness, Affordability and Accessibility. The fairs have been listed in chronological order.
1 Art Rooms
The first on the list is the Art Rooms, which has been included for its uniqueness. The art room is a unique exhibition taking place in an entire hotel, which I am really excited about. 76 rooms of the luxurious Melià White House Hotel in central London will be transformed to mini galleries. The Melià White House Hotel has been described as where contemporary meets modernism which makes this an ideal location for such a revolutionary event.
This is a new fair and will provide a platform for UK independent artists, galleries from all over the world to showcase contemporary art. One of my favourite cultural establishments, The Cult House will be showing its carefully curated collection of contemporary works at this event. Another distinctive feature of this fair is that it will also include offerings from functional art.
The first Art Rooms took place from the 23rd – 25th of January 2015. A great event. Read more about it in my blog post Innovative hotel ARTRooms exhibition-A new way to show-art
2 Affordable Art Fair
The Affordable Art Fair, as the name implies has been chosen for its affordability factor. Art prices range from £40 to £5,000 for paintings, prints, sculpture and photography from established and emerging artists. The artworks on display spans across traditional and contemporary art. I got some amazing pieces during my last visit.
It has also been added to this list for its accessibility factor. The Affordable Art Fair describe itself as ‘London Friendliest art fair’, which I agree with. The fair is more accessible as it takes place twice a year in two different London locations, Battersea and West Hampstead.
The Affordable Art Fair also takes place in Bristol, Europe, Americas and Asia. The next Affordable Art Fair is at Battersea with 112 galleries showing from the 12-15th of March 2015.
3 The Other Art Fair
The Other Art Fair is an artist led fair. The last fair took place in the creative hub of East London at the Old Truman Brewery. This fair fits nicely into the affordable art category with creative pieces starting from as little as £60 from both local and international artist. At this price, it provides many with the opportunity to own an original piece of art, which is part my ethos. At the 2014 fair there was a variety of works on display ranging from photography, installations, mixed media and sculptures.
The preview evening, which I recommend you attend was buzzing with people, music, food and drinks. It had a great atmosphere and vibe. Read my full post on the 2014 event , where 130 artist showcased their work.
The next Other Art Fair takes place at Victoria House, Southampton Row, London from the 23rd -25th of April 2015
4 Untitled Art Fair
The Untitled Art fair described as ‘The UK’s Largest Artists’ Fair’, annually provides a commissions free platform for over 170 Artists to sell their artwork directly to art lovers, dealers, galleries and members of the public.
This has been added to the list for its affordability factor, which showcases a wide selection of affordable Fine Art. On my visit to the fair, there was a wide selections of offerings, ranging from paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs and prints. Prices start from just £25 for high quality fine art prints on paper which makes original art pieces accessible to many.
The next Untitled Art Fair takes place at The Old Chelsea Town Hall, London from the 29th -31st May of 2015
5 Start
Start is in its second year and takes place at Saatchi Gallery. The fair is aimed at young galleries and new artist from across the globe. Start provides a platform by supporting and encouraging new entrants to the art world to develop their careers. START was founded by the Global Eye Programme, an initiative that nurtures worldwide artistic talent, in partnership with the Saatchi Gallery.
The next Start Art Fair will take place at Saatchi Gallery from the 25-28 June of 2015.
6 PINTA
PINTA the modern and contemporary art show from Latin America offers unique and variety artworks from Latin American. As well as Portuguese and Spanish artists, represented by 50 galleries. The art fair is in its 6th year and is the only art fair in Europe dedicated to this genre of art.
The 2014 PINTA event, which took place at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, also celebrated women in Latin America Arts. A number of informative talks took place covering topics on the evolution of the art world, the limited number of women in arts and artistic influences and inspiration to name a few.
This is definitely worth a visit to get a taste of the Latin America art scene. The featured photo on this post was from PINTA London 2014.
The dates for PINTA London 2015 is yet to be announced. Based on previous years, it is anticipated to be in June.
7 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
The name of the 154 Contemporary African Art Fair is based on the number of countries in Africa. 1-54 is in its 3rd year and is the only contemporary African art fair in Europe providing a platform to showcase the artistic talents from the 54 countries in Africa.
With the growth and increased popularity of contemporary African art as covered in the jonaquestart blog post on Contemporary African Art in Paris. The 154 art fair provides an insight into this increased popularity and the multi facet and cultural diversity of Africa. It also shows the juxtaposition between tribal/traditional art, which is typically associated with Africa and Contemporary African Art trends.
If you are looking for something different or just curious, this is one to add to your dairy for later in the year. Check out my full post on Contemporary African Art in London which gives a run down of the highlights from the 2014 Fair at Somerset house.
The next 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair takes place from 15-18 October 2015 at Somerset House, London.
I look forward to attending five of these Art Fairs again in 2015, I will be attending Start and The Art Rooms for the first time. Will you be joining me? Please comment and feel free to suggest other unique and alternative art events across London.
Look out for my post on International art fairs and Art fairs and Festivals in Africa or better still subscribe to jonaquestart art and travel blog to get interesting posts on my creative voyage delivered to your mailbox.
Bye for now.
