Viral Art Car Boot Fair

About

Just like its famous physical manifestation, the viral edition promises all the fun of the fair combined with an exuberance of new talent to boot. Art Car Boot Fair favourites including Gavin Turk, Polly Morgan, Pam Hogg, Marcus Harvey, Jeremy Deller, Pure Evil, Kristjana S Williams, Sara Pope and Mat Collishaw will be joined by a host of exciting new artists, such as Rankin, Noel Fielding, Helen Beard, Claire Partington, Hayden Keys, Charlotte MacMillan and Robert Cooper. 

The artwork and wares have all been produced exclusively for the 2020 Viral Art Car Boot Fair and many attest to the fact that these artists have risen to the creative challenges posed by this year’s pandemic. Indeed, many have found extraordinary inspiration in the new normal. Pam Hogg, for example, has created film posters which reference the amount of films she has been watching in lockdown; Jessie Voorsanger’s drawings similarly take shape as TV characters. Susie Hamilton has produced an extraordinary series of paintings depicting masked NHS workers, and Marcus Harvey’s ceramic sculptures, including darkened, blackened Union Jacks, reflect the times we are living in with perhaps a brutish humour. 

But what has stayed the same is the quirky spirit of the Art Car Boot Fair, its celebration of the weird and wonderful. Adam Dant has been commissioned to create a map based on the Art Car Boot Fair project which allows visitors to have a virtual rummage through the delights of ‘ArtCarBootopia’, full of references from its exuberant event history. The atmosphere of the Art Car Boot Fair will also be revived through a digital Programme of the Day, featuring a wide variety of artist-led events and experiences that will take place alongside the fair itself. Events will include life live drawing classes with Trixie Divine, a special reading from Bob & Roberta Smith, a Critic’s Choice selection from Louisa Buck, radio broadcasts, artist interviews, performance art and lots more. 

Art Car Boot Fair Members (see below) will receive Premium Access to the Viral ACBF from 12 pm, just one of the many benefits included in the new membership programme. And, just as with the physical ACBF event, a ticket will cost £5 for the day and will grant visitors entry to the fair from 2.30 pm onwards. Also in keeping with Art Car Boot Fair tradition, access will be free from 5.30 pm for a final hour of buying and selling, with discounted prices and special offers to be snapped up.

Says Karen Ashton, founder of the Art Car Boot Fair: ‘This year’s line-up of artists for the first digital ACBF exhibits a stunning array of talent. There will be something here for everyone. Despite this year’s move online, we’re also proud to be maintaining our unique focus on interaction between artist and audience: visitors will be able to talk directly to the artists through Zoom and Instagram, as well as take part in a vibrant programme of immersive events. We can’t wait to welcome the world to the Viral Art Car Boot Fair.’ 

The fair will be delivered through a specially created event website. Each artist will have their own virtual car boot ‘pitch’ featuring not only all of their artworks, but also specially created films and live links direct to the artists’ studios. Just as with ACBF Live events, the Viral edition will offer direct access to the artists, all of whom will be making work especially for the day and selling for astonishing ‘boot fair’ prices. There will be countdowns, virtual queues, waiting rooms, art drops, exclusive editions, lots of originals and a myriad of ways for visitors to get involved. There will even be a specially curated virtual gallery exhibition with the works of Ian Dawson, James Hewins, George Thom and Anette Warner, specially curated within the virtual surroundings of Groocks Gallery.  

••• New Membership Programme ***

The ACBF team have also launched a new membership programme alongside their online debut. For a special half-price introductory offer of only £12 per year, new members will receive Premium Access to the inaugural digital Art Car Boot Fair from 12 pm to 2:30 pm, as well as entry to all other upcoming digital events over the coming year, 25% off tickets for future live events, exclusive offers with ACBF partner organisations and discount vouchers redeemable on selected artworks. Indeed, those who purchase membership before the 20 September will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 voucher to spend at this year’s fair.

Entry times to the Viral Art Car Boot Fair: 

12.00 – 2.30 pm — Members Only Premium Access 

2.30 pm – 5.30 pm — General Entry for £5

5.30 pm – 6.30 pm — Free Entry for All 

The full line-up of participating artists: 

• Abigail Fallis
• Adam Bridgeland
• Adam Dant
• Alice Herrick
• Amelia Troubridge
• Andrew Millar
• Anthony Burrill
• Art on a Postcard
• Atom Gallery
• Beatrice Brown
• Ben Slow
• Benjamin Irritant
• Bob + Roberta Smith
• Bumble Earwig
• C.A. Halpin
• Camille Phoenix
• Carla Borel
• Carrie Reichardt
• Charlotte Farmer
• Charlotte MacMillan 
• Charming Baker
• Chris Levine
• Christian Furr
• Christine Binnie 
• Christopher Stead
• Claire Partington
• Clare Halifax
• Dario Illari 
• Dave Buonaguidi 
• David Edmond
• David Saunders
• Emma Harvey
• Eric Haacht
• Euan Roberts
• Flying Leaps
• Frea Buckler
• Gavin Turk
• Geraldine Swayne
• Gillian Garnica
• Groocks Gallery
• Haus of Lucy
• Hayden Kays
• Heath Kane
• Helen Beard
• Hi-Noon
• Holly Allan
• House of Fairy Tales
• Ian Dawson
• Ivan Black
• James Joyce
• Jamie Reid
• Jayson Lilley
• Jealous Gallery
• Jeremy Deller
• Jess Albarn
• Jess Wilson
• Jessica Voorsanger
• Jim Hollingworth 
• Joanna Ham
• Joe Webb
• Joseph Gibson
• Julia Maddison
• Kate Knight
• Keira Rathbone
• Kelly-Anne Davitt
• Kristjana S Williams
• L-13
• Ladymuck
• Laura New
• London Drawing
• Magda Archer
• Mandy Doubt
• Marcus Harvey
• Margo McDaid
• Mat Collishaw
• Mimei Thompson
• Mosfortune Teller
• Misha Milovanovich
• Mr Edwards
• Nick Grindrod
• Nina Mae Fowler
• Noel Fielding
• Oli Fowler
• Ozziline Bill
• Pam Hogg
• Paul Davis
• Paul Sakoilsky
• Planet Patrol Studio
• Polly Morgan
• Pure Evil
• Quiet British Accent
• Rachel Megawhat
• Rankin
• Richard Hoffman
• Richard Strange
• Rob & Nick Carter
• Robert Cooper
• Robert Rubbish
• Rosie Emerson
• Ruthie Hudson
• Sadie Hennessy
• Sara Pope
• Sarah Duncan 
• Schoony
• The Sculpture Club with Andy Holden and Holly Hendry
• Sean Worrall
• Smithson Gallery 
• Sophy Rickett
• Susie Hamilton
• Tony Beaver
• Tracey Neuls
• Trish Wylie
• Trolley Books
• True Rocks
• Turps
• Villain
• Wildcat Will
• Wilfrid Wood
• Wilma Johnson
• Yushi-Li

About the Art Car Boot Fair:

The Art Car Boot Fair is a vibrant cross between an art fair and a car boot sale – a quintessentially British afternoon of art buying, mingling and entertainment.

The first Art Car Boot Fair was held in London in 2004 with a line-up of around 30 artists including Gavin Turk, Abigail Lane, Mat Collishaw, Fiona Banner and Bob & Roberta Smith. The ACBF has been held every year since, except for 2005, and it currently takes place twice a year and features an invited line-up of 150 artists with Turner Prize winners pitching next to rising stars, fine artists next to street artists and everything in between. The art is exclusively commissioned for the event and presented at fabulously reduced, just-for-the-day prices by the artist in person.

The main aim of the Art Car Boot Fair is to be a day when the artists let their hair down and for visitors to engage with art and the artists in an informal way, and to pick up some real art bargains to boot. The Art Car Boot Fair is an exciting and energised one-day event, widely regarded as the most democratic and fun way to buy art. 

Founded and produced by Karen Ashton, a curator and independent art consultant and writer, and originally produced with Helen Hayward, the ideas behind the Art Car Boot Fair developed out of Joshua Compston’s ‘Fête Worse than Death’ and Gavin Turk’s ‘Livestock Market’ and ‘Articultural Shows’, Hoxton-based events that blazed a trail in the late 90s. The first Art Car Boot Fair picked up where they left off with the intention of re-introducing some summer fun and frivolity into a thriving but increasingly commercial London art scene.

This year the organisers of the Art Car Boot Fair have risen to the challenges posed by the global pandemic by developing an online version of their famously exuberant one-day event, bringing the anarchic spirit of the ACBF to digital life. The first Viral Art Car Boot Fair will take place on Sunday 20th September 2020. It will act both as a "lockdown" iteration in response to the Covid-19 crisis and also as our digital counterpart for all our future events, keeping the artist at the centre and extending our event to a new global audience.