An art fair from the ground up.

By Carla Tucker, Fair Operations Manager, Affordable Art Fair UK.

“The Affordable Art Fair was born out of a desire to democratise the art market, and make owning art accessible to everyone. Hosting fairs in 10 cities around the world, we’ve welcomed 2.7 million visitors since our first outing in 1999, who have purchased over 500,000 artworks.

As Fair Manager for Affordable Art Fair UK, I look after the Operations for our three London fairs; including two a year in Battersea Park and one on Hampstead Heath. We create a welcoming and buzzy atmosphere at our fairs, where everyone can discover the joy of collecting art, and have a memorable and inspiring experience. The space we design is a crucial part of the visitor experience, so everything from the building’s structure, to the lighting, stand lay-out, curation and entertainment are carefully planned out.

Our Hampstead Fair in North London is special as the only large-scale event of its kind to take place on Hampstead Heath, steeped in surrounding natural beauty, culture and history. Launched as the second London Affordable Art Fair in 2011, Hampstead was the perfect location for us, having been home to some of the world’s greatest artists and writers – from Keats to Barbara Hepworth.

For one month in Spring, our tent pops up on the southwestern edge of the Heath, overlooking the famous swimming ponds. At 5,300 square metres, it’s an impressive structure which takes two weeks to build, with the help of over 13 different contractors bringing in everything from the power supply to toilets and catering. As you walk up the path from the Overground station, a megalithic structure greets you – and the sense of excitement as it starts to take shape always gives me such a buzz!

Once the structure is up, that’s when we can really start to bring our vision for the fair to life. Affordable Art Fair showcases a huge range of art in all styles, genres and mediums, with top exhibiting galleries travelling from all over the world to showcase and sell their artists’ work. We create a crisp and contemporary fresh space, making the most of the natural light from the tent’s 11 metre high, white arched roof, so we can create the perfect backdrop that allows the artworks to take centre stage.

Visitors are greeted by a vast atrium which often hosts bespoke installations and wow-factor pieces that hit you as soon as you walk in. We work with our design team to build a colour palette for the fair, often incorporating colours from our campaign poster and lead artworks, in neutral tones. We use this palette to treat our featured walls and curated programme sections – our top finds under £500 is always a favourite, whilst other recent features include a display of the Hampstead Modernist artists, loaned from Burgh House, and a talks lounge with prominent designers. Once we even created a floating gallery in the ponds, which was a personal highlight of mine.

The fair is laid out across 12 aisles, opening out in the centre to our Central Bar, which acts as a hub for visitors to relax, enjoy and take in the amazing art on display. We always aim to create a visual statement at the Central Bar, whether that’s beautiful floral displays, or hanging installations. Our purpose-built treetop café and sundeck are elevated five metres off the ground, and the floor to ceiling windows flood the space with light, looking out over hundred-year-old trees and the ponds below, bringing the best of the spectacular outside scenery in.

The Battersea Fair has a different vibe to Hampstead – taking place at Evolution London in Battersea Park twice a year, the venue has a large mezzanine level that creates spectacular views out across the 100+ gallery stands. The lighting state also contributes to a different aesthetic – as it’s a darker space we’re able to work with more creative lighting and spotlights (not to mention a star covered draped roof!)

Whether you come along to our Battersea or Hampstead fairs (or both) you’re guaranteed to have a great time. Above all, at each of our fairs, we want to create a welcoming, contemporary, and joyful atmosphere where visitors can spend the day discovering and purchasing great art – whether they’re a first-time buyer or a seasoned collector.”

The next Affordable Art Fair takes place in Battersea Park from 20 – 23 October. Visit www.affordableartfair.com for more information and to book tickets.

If you’re interested in collaborating with Affordable Art Fair, you can get in touch via enquiries@affordableartfair.com