My first arts fair: 20/21 British Art Fair

This week as part of my internship here at Apollo magazine I ventured to my very first arts fair at the Royal College of Art - the 20/21 British Art Fair. Myself and a colleague's role was to hand out the latest September issue of Apollo and tempt people in to purchasing a subscription. As well as manning the desk, I got the opportunity to write a Blog report about the first day of the fair.

Being my first arts fair, I had no idea what to expect. Spaced out on two floors, there were 56 dealers and galleries exhibiting work to potential collectors. I was surprised, although looking back now it seems naïve of me to be so, at such big names on display. Looking at one stand there were a plethora of contemporary 'house-hold' names, such as: Emin, Hockney, Gormley, Hirst, Banksy... (by 'house-hold' I mean well known obviously...) The list goes on and on. Exploring the fair, there were also a vast variety of modern artists including Henry Moore, L.S. Lowry and Hepworth.

It was a great experience, one that I am thrilled to have shared with Apollo. Meeting and talking to both subscribers and avid fans of the magazine, as well as those taking an interest and learning all about it, was
also a highlight. I got the chance to speak to some very interesting dealers, and this encounter has only served to intensify my longing to work in the arts sector in the future! What was wonderful was seeing the
relationships evident between the various exhibitors. They obviously exhibit at the same fairs and thus friendships and work relationships are formed.

When exploring the fair (it was pretty expansive might I add!), I spoke to a really friendly dealer, Dominic Kemp. He owns Dominic Kemp: Modern British Prints, and it was his first time at the fair. On his stand were a vast collection of superb prints. One of my favorites was Harold Cohen's 'Richard Hamilton Suite', a collection of 8 screen prints which are very Warhol-esque. This image just jumps out at you - very energetic and lively. Imagine this hanging on the living room wall. One can only wish.

Obviously I enjoyed speaking to dealers and collectors, and visiting the various stands; but the highlight for me was bumping into the Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood! I got the chance to get a quote or two for my Blog post for Apollo's website. He was super nice, and told me about two paintings by artist John Monks whom he has come especially to see. Wood left the fair with these two paintings, with the vision of hanging them in his holiday house!

You'll be able to read more about my thoughts and experiences of 20/21 British Art Fair when the article is uploaded to Apollo's website which I will link to on here.