Friezeing Out The Emerging Artist

Friezeing your butt off?

London Art Fairs 2015

As I've been a bit busy recently, I almost missed the fact that we'd crept up to Frieze week again. Yes, it's that time in October when the whizzes at Frieze lure wealthy investors art buyers into Regent's Park in order to part them from their money in exchange for some cultural assets. Frieze London obviously have a sense of humour as there was even a talk asking Can Artists Afford to Live in London?,which is available as a free mp3 for those too poor to attend in person. If you got a free ticket or are an emerging artist working at the fair then well done to you!

If you read my last post you may be aware of the existence of The Cultivist, a new venture who will whisk impatient people with money past the boring queues and straight over to a curator and a glass of champagne, and quite right too. Also, I'm sure that with the proper advice, these same lucky folk can go to some lectures on how to spend money on art and skip the hard part of trying to understand why anyone likes it, after all if it's worth a lot of money it must be worth having, right? No need to spend time thinking about what an emerging artist is developing if you can just pick up something by a recently dead famous artist. Chin, chin!

If you happen to be one of those aforementioned poor emerging artists, you can commiserate with your fellow artists flogging their work, and those curators who taking a break from Frieze, by heading over to The Other Art Fair / Moniker where there are somewhat more affordable artworks and snacks. If that's not your style there are sure to be a couple of other art fairs on in the same block at the Old Truman Brewery.

If you're looking for actual creativity, rather than just shopping, then head over to Sluice, which is back after a year's break from London, This is the one of the art fairs that I've enjoyed the most, as you actually get to talk to other artists and small galleries. Busy curators presumably head over there on Sunday after Frieze shuts its doors, so no one need miss the fun.

And finally, this Twitter exchange, with fab Leeds-based artist Emily Speed, summed it all up for me ...

When curators suggest a meeting at Frieze and you're like, NO DUDE, it's £36 and I'd be paying for my own ticket.

— Emily Speed (@speedina) October 15, 2015

@SRfirehorseart @sluice__ aye, Can I do a studio visit? Sure, my studio is here... reply - oh, well let me know when you're in town next...

— Emily Speed (@speedina) October 16, 2015

Happy 2015 to all you lovely London art fair explorers! :)