The Affordable Art Fair
About
When Will Ramsay founded the fair in 1999 his aim was to make contemporary art accessible to everyone, and to show you don’t need to be an art expert or a millionaire to enjoy and buy art. Ten years on The Affordable Art Fair is the leading showcase in the UK for contemporary art under £4,000 having welcomed over 430,000 visitors who have bought £73 million of art.
How did it all start?
In 1996 Will opened Will’s Art Warehouse in south west London to bridge the increasing interest in contemporary art and the London gallery scene. By concentrating on relatively unknown artists not carrying a premium for reputation, the gallery was able to offer works from £50 - £2,500 from a stable of over 150 artists. The response to Will’s Art Warehouse encouraged Will to take his approach to the next level, and in October 1999 he launched the first Affordable Art Fair in Battersea Park. 10,000 visitors took advantage of the ease of buying, breadth of choice, affordable prices and user-friendly approach.
In 2001 Will launched a second event in Battersea Park, the Spring Collection, to showcase entirely different artists from the Autumn Collection. Now over 25,000 people come to each London fair to enjoy the art exhibited by the 120 British and international galleries. In the same year he established a fair in the West Country; the Bristol fair in May is now very popular attracting around 7,000 visitors over three days.
AAF has also become something of a global phenomenon with fairs taking place in Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, New York and Singapore, while affiliate events include Sydney and Melbourne. Globally, 783,000 people have visited an Affordable Art Fair, buying over £123 million of art.
Has AAF received any recognition over the years?
For the 2nd year in a row, AAF has been selected as one of the UK's coolest brands by an independent council and more than 2,500 members of the British public. As brands are unable to nominate themselves to be a CoolBrand, it just goes to show how much support the fair has from its visitors!
We’re chuffed to be thought of as ‘a brand that it is both cutting edge and has withstood the test of time; something that appeals to celebrities and to ordinary people too…’.
Check out our entry on the CoolBrands site.
Our formula is relatively simple: a relaxed, unstuffy environment and lots of good quality contemporary art. The price ceiling of £4,000 and the compulsory labelling of all artwork ensures you know what you can and can’t afford, and the huge array of paintings, sculpture, photography and prints means there is something to suit every taste. The artists shown at the spring and autumn fairs in London are entirely different, so even if you don’t find your perfect piece the first time it is always worth coming back!
We are planning to have lots of other arty activities going on at each fair, along with an emerging artist exhibition, which features the work of recent graduates. The Education Programme offers a whole host of activities, all of which are fun, informative and free. For those who wish to create their own masterpiece everything from drypoint printmaking to collaborative mural-making might be on offer. And for those who prefer to listen there are talks on collecting art and printmaking. Children can be kept entertained with an array of activities great plans are underway.