Why settle for one art fair when you can have two?
For years the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea Park has been in every art-minded (and budget-conscious) families’ diaries in London. Now those north of the river can head to the new Hampstead fair to browse art, take part in workshops and affordably build their art collection.
As parents, we love the Battersea Affordable Art Fair, which is about 10 minutes from us by car. Instead of the hush of a gallery, you have the bustle of an exhibition, with booth after booth of sculptures, paintings, and photographs to talk about and keep kids engaged and stimulated. Right when you enter the fair, an assistant hands you a small woven bag with kids activity guide (good for children up to about age 7, with pictures to colour in, a scavenger hunt list of items to find in the fair or around the park, and so on) and a packet of 8 crayons. There’s a children’s area with materials for making pictures, decent snacks and drinks for children (although finding a free table is at times a challenge) and a Laithwaites wine bar.
Best of all, there’s art and lots of it. At the front you browse new graduate work, inside you can find everything from Impressionist style nature scenes to Mario Testino photographs of Kate Moss. All works are priced between £40 and £4,000 (-ish. We admired the photographs in one stall that started just above £4K).
Every year there seems to a theme to many of the stalls. This time it was work featuring skulls and Amy Winehouse, and photographs with a very shiny finish.
We were tempted by photographs at the Galerie Samagra stand, by Ceal Warnants’s Stories for Bedtime, and by Jean-Michel Berts‘s gorgeous images. In the end we went with an economical silk screen by Small Stakes for made a Texas film festival.
My advice: take the kids, make a morning or an afternoon of it, and allow yourself to be inspired to buy an original piece of art.
Free entry on Friday upon presentation of this page at the door (normal price £12-£15).
Adults: £12 advance weekend entry; £15 on the door.
Children under 16: FREE
