Sooo I’m not new to the London art fair calendar but I am new to showing at an artist-led art fair. This month I am exhibiting at Roy’s art fair (12-15 Aug) in the barge house at the Oxo Tower on London’s beautiful South-Bank (sweet location!).
Roy’s Art Fair was created in 2017 to give artists an alternative platform to present their work whilst also creating a unique art fair experience for visitors allowing interaction and the ability to buy artwork directly from the artist.
This is my second art fair this summer but my first artist- led art fair. Last month I participated in the Battersea Affordable art fair with the Graham Hunter Gallery. I’ve shown with Graham a couple of times, in fact he gave me my first solo show in London back in 2017! We’ve built a good working relationship and it’s always a positive thing to show with him.
Whats a London Art fair like?
On applying and being accepted for this art fair I decided I would do it as one thing Covid taught me is to be more proactive and I like the idea of meeting buyers of my work as it’s a more personal experience for us both.
Through covid, I’ve embraced my online presence to keep my work moving and build connections with people. This has been a much better experience than I had anticipated but it also means I’m more in practice talking about my work and engaging through my phone screen rather than face to face which is a bit odd now as we move back to ‘normal’!
I think participating in a physical art fair where I am present at the booth to chat to people about my work will be a great way to get back chatting face to face with people who want to know more about my work.
Alot goes into preparing for an art fair. I decided to make some fresh work as well as showing some work made earlier this year. If you’ve been following my Instagram you will have seen my posts about buying new materials for these new paintings as well as trips to and from my framer & trying to decide which work to include in the show (always struggle with that part!).
Load-in for the show is exciting as you get to meet new artists and see their work. Lets see how it all pans out. As always I’ll be posting on my Instagram- do pop in if you’re in the London area im at stand #49 on floor three- thanks, Aisling x