Affordable Art Fair is an international,

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

fair held in nine countries around the world. Launched in

Battersea Park Battersea Park is a 200-acre (83-hectare) green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea, London, Chelsea and was opened in 1858. The park occupies ...

, London, England, in 1999, Affordable Art Fair is an international event in thirteen cities: London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm, New York, Austin, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. In 2025, Affordable Art Fair will appear in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria and in Boston, MA, USA. The fairs take place annually, with the exceptions of Battersea and New York, which hold spring and autumn editions that run across four days. Affordable Art Fairs showcase talks, programs, and artist-led workshops, and most also provide art-based activities for children. Founded by Will Ramsay, Affordable Art Fair was organized as an alternative to the traditional gallery scene. With its price ceiling of £7,500/€10,00/$12,000, the fairs aim to appeal to and make art accessible to all. The fairs attract over 200,000 visitors each year. In 2024, Affordable Art Fair celebrates its 25th anniversary. Employing nearly seventy people full-time, Affordable Art Fair has offices in every city in which it operates.

History

The first fair was launched in

in London in October 1999. Affordable Art Fair presented a second event in Battersea Park to showcase different artists from the October event. In the same year, a fair was presented in Bristol in September. In 2002, the Affordable Art Fair launched a fair in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. In 2007, the company began to expand in Europe, starting with a fair in Amsterdam. 2012 saw the Affordable Art Fair launch in five additional cities, and it operated in Hong Kong in 2013. In 2014, for the fourth year in a row, Affordable Art Fair was voted a CoolBrand in the UK, nominated by the British public and the CoolBrand council."Affordable Art Fair"
. CoolBrands, UK, 2012. Affordable Art Fair is owned by Ramsay Fairs, which also owns the

British Art Fair British Art Fair is a London-based art fair presenting modern, post-war and contemporary British art. The fair was founded by Gay Hutson in 1988, and most of the major names in British art in the 20th and 21st centuries have been represented. ...

, a Modern and Contemporary Art fair that takes place every autumn at the Saatchi Gallery in London, and VOLTA, an art fair in Switzerland (

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

) and the USA (

). In 2020, in-person fairs were cancelled and went online due to the pandemic. The fairs returned as in-person events in 2021.

Charitable work

According to Affordable Art Fair, it has donated over £1 million since 1999. In 2016, the company unified its approach to charitable work by ensuring that every fair worked with an Art Therapy charity. As well as donating money, the events provide a platform on which charities can raise awareness of their activities, fundraise, and connect with new supporters. They have worked with The Sovereign Art Foundation and North London Hospice.

References

{{reflist * Local media reports for: *
AAF Battersea
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AAF Amsterdam
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AAF Milan
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AAF Stockholm
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AAF NYC
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AAF Hong Kong
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AAF Singapore

Production of Affordable Art.com

External links

Company website

Interview with founder referring to the charitable work
Recurring events established in 1999 1999 establishments in England Annual events in London Arts in London Art fairs Contemporary art exhibitions