Some things trigger memories so quickly. Sounds, tastes, but for me, walking into the Buy Art Fair brought me right the way back to Miss Carnell’s art class. The smell of paint – acrylic and oil, wood from the stands – I was right back sitting at the big art tables, in a square surrounding the room; girls talking in the background, sewing machine whirring, tap running as people washed brushes, me looking at an A2 piece of fabric half finished, with a slightly blank look.
The Buy Art Fair itself though, isn’t full of teenage girls doing their GCSE art class; luckily it’s full of beautiful pieces, from the Lumpy Crumpet Club pieces by Elaine Cooper on the the Blighty Art stand, through to the ink work of Moose Allain and Paul Bennett’s oil and gloss resin images (some of you may recognise them from the walls of the Harvey Nichols restaurant).
What sets this fair apart from others is the accessibility of it – there really is something for everyone, from line drawings, to photographic prints, to the unusual and unique of the Contemporary Art Fair, you will find something that’s to your taste.
Financially too, it’s just as accessible. Yes, there are pieces costing thousands of pounds, but there are some items costing a few hundred and some costing under £100 – the perfect way for someone like me to own artwork and in fact to splurge a teeny bit and buy some Christmas presents.
The Contemporary Art Fair is, as you’d expect, something a little different. There’s the quirky, the unusual and even performance art. Everything induces a conversation, a discussion, which is surely one of the points of art.
If you’re in the city centre this weekend, pop by and have a look – it’s free – and you might find yourself reaching for your wallet, and surprised at how little you spend for something you love.