The Other Art Fair comes to Bristol

“Bristol has a brilliant vibe as a city and a world class venue in the form of the Arnolfini so it felt like the perfect place to host our first fair outside of London. We also have a broad selection of artists from the South West who already come to our London shows so we knew we would have a brilliant pool of talent to apply.”

Ryan Stanier, founder of The Other Art Fair, is explaining why they chose to locate the first Other Art Fair to be held outside London in Bristol. 

The Other Art Fair began in 2011. Since then it has gone from strength to  strength, discovering, nurturing and promoting new artistic talent. Such has been the success of the Other Art Fair in London it will be holding its inaugural edition in Bristol at the Arnolfini from June 5 to 6.

Local and national artists were invited to take part and the response was better than Ryan could have hoped for.

“We had over 300 applications in the end for just 60 spaces which was a fantastic response for our first fair in the city. We had a really broad range of applications too from street and contemporary artists to mixed media and landscape artists and sculptors. We are particularly delighted to have Tracey Emin confirmed as our special guest artist alongside Gavin Turk and Sickboy who was part of our curation team from the start.”

Choosing which artists to include in the fair sounds a difficult job. However, Ryan believes the selection team for Bristol have done sterling work.

“The fair’s selection committee are a group of contemporary experts, including Bristol’s own Sickboy Helen Legg, director of Spike Island; Paul Hobson, director of Modern Art Oxford; and Cherie Federico, director of Aesthetica magazine. They have selected 42 artists to ensure a line-up of remarkable talent from all over the world.

“Our selection committee are given free rein to choose our artists, based on their experience and of course in Helen and Sickboy’s case knowledge of the market and art fans in Bristol. We like to give visitors a broad range of art, starting from £50 pieces so that everyone that attends could get themselves a piece of art. We also like to ensure that there are some home grown talent, some names people will know and some undiscovered gems in the mix.”

Art fairs are an increasingly popular way for artists and galleries to reach a wider audience; the Affordable Art Fair and the granddaddy of them all Frieze being two such examples.

Ryan describes what makes the Other Art Fair different and a must for artists: “We like to think that it has a unique vibe. You are seeing the artists themselves exhibiting their work, hearing their stories and get a deeper understanding of their pieces. It’s got a very approachable feeling because there is artwork priced at lots of different points, you can pick up pieces from £50 like your very own limited edition Tracey Emin signed poster.

“We are fairly individual as a fair as we enable artists to exhibit themselves rather than through galleries. It makes for a lovely vibe on the exhibition floor as artists chat with buyers and meet each other. We also put a lot of effort into the additional show features so that we can attract a broad spectrum of audiences at the fair. We are lucky to have benefited from fantastic artist support from the outset and Bristol will hopefully be our biggest launch show to date.”

Whilst the artists are supported and showcased, the visitors’ experience is certainly not neglected.

“Visitors can expect us to transform the Arnolfini into an art lover paradise, with a huge selection of works on show,” Ryan says. “They can expect to be tempted by hundreds of the pieces as our artists truly offer something for every taste. There will also be workshops such as a taxidermy making showcase, children’s crafts from House of Fairytales and little surprises in every nook and cranny of the building.”

For more information, visit bristol.theotherartfair.com.