Coloursoup

By Shoomon Perry, Founder/Director of Coloursoup

The Affordable Art Fair has established itself as a bit of a tradition in London. Twice a year the fair exhibits in Battersea Park – with around 100 galleries exhibiting work in a marquee on the lawn. Artworks are priced between £40 and £4000, and are typically a mix of original paintings and drawings, prints, photography and some sculpture.

I'm going to be controversial here and give my top 5 reasons why the Affordable Art Fair is not the best place to buy original “affordable” art:

• First of all the Affordable Art Fair is just not convenient for most people living in the UK. The fairs are on particular weekends in either Battersea, Hampstead and Bristol. For most people this requires some serious logistical planning.
• Secondly it's actually quite expensive. Tickets cost up to £20 per person. (And the on-site cafe is not exactly value for money either)
• Thirdly, my experience of the fair is that it can get quite cramped at weekends. 100 galleries stuffed into an oversize wedding marquee tent with several thousand visitors. Not exactly pram-friendly...
• Fourthly – despite the number of galleries displaying their work I'm not always convinced by the range and quality of work on display. Maybe that's just me being picky...
• Finally – and most importantly – I don't believe that the work you are buying represents value for money. Think about it – both the gallery and the fair have to take their cut of the proceeds of the sale. In practice over half of what you are paying goes to cover these overheads.

Our view here at Coloursoup is that the best way to buy high quality “affordable" art is to look online – and either buy direct from the artist's website or from a reputable online gallery that has a strong selection panel and handles all of the logistics for you.





What do you think? Tell us in the comment box below...

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