The Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair has moved to Vauxhall for the latest edition of this annual London art extravaganza. The intention is to re-introducing some summer fun and frivolity into a thriving but increasingly commercial London art scene. This year’s theme, ‘The Original,’ promises to be a prime opportunity to snap up one-of-a-kind original as well as limited edition artworks all for a fraction of their usual prices. The one-day festival will take place on the streets of Vauxhall’s vibrant new gallery district with the support of Newport Street Gallery and U+I Plc, and will present an eclectic line-up of over one hundred artists who will be selling exclusive pieces from the boots of both new and vintage Vauxhall cars.
The Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair is one of the highlights of the Summer art season – PCR
As always, the fair will give visitors the rare opportunity to see a stellar line-up of work by sought-after artists including Sir Peter Blake, Marcus Harvey, Gavin Turk, Pam Hogg, Bob & Roberta Smith, Polly Morgan, and Rachel Howard, among others. In fact, Sir Peter Blake, as well as Bruce McLean and Colin Self, will be in the car park in person on the day selling originals. A must-see experience for art aficionados, the event will aptly take place just a stone’s throw from the former Vauxhall Ironworks Company where the original tiller-steered automobiles were made in 1903. The main fair will be housed inside The Workshop, a new events space on Whitgift Street.
For the first time this year, a commission designed by the Icelandic artist Kristjana Williams will see a limited-edition Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer wrapped with Williams’ unique and vibrant cartographic designs. Williams has previously collaborated with institutions and brands such as Fortnum and Mason, Penhaligon’s, Lulu Guinness, Christian Louboutin and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
An especially extraordinary opportunity for art lovers will be the rare chance to own a hand- finished Harland Miller print for just £300. Art on a Postcard has secured an original work by the British artist and writer of which 50 postcard size prints will also be made. Ten prints will be released online to Art on a Postcard’s mailing list before the fair and a raffle on the day will determine which lucky buyer will go home with the original!
Another highlight of the event will be the incredible selection of drawings by British Pop artist Colin Self. A graduate of the Slade School of Fine Art (1963), Self counts Sir Peter Blake and David Hockney amongst the supporters of his artistic practice and will be onsite in Vauxhall alongside Blake selling his works.
Would-be collectors will also have the opportunity to scoop up a limited-edition Marcus Harvey sculpture. The YBA will be creating a series of sculptures of boots, especially for the fair. There will be small variations within the series so each piece will be unique.
Artlyst have a special edition lenticular print by Michael Petry which will be selling for £100 (retails at £280) They have 30 of them for sale at this price. Plus they will be giving away 300 Artlyst canvas bags to the first 300 people that come to their stand and follow them on Instagram. The Michael Petry print. ‘Red Roses’ (see below) is a Memento Mori depicting Roses dying in a ‘Petrie tray’ which relates to the AIDS crisis. (yes this is something in need of highlighting)
For jewellery lovers, True Rocks Jewellery has collaborated with Gavin Turk this year. Turk has designed a necklace for the brand, which is named ‘London Brick’ and takes the typical London building material and turns it into a wearable piece of jewellery. Cast in solid silver and plated in rose gold, the brick charm comes on a rose gold chain and will be available to purchase at the fair along with other pieces by True Rocks.
In addition, there will be a range of entertainment on the day including The Black Cow vodka bar; a vintage Vauxhall market with Mark Hill; live music, marching bands and promenade performances in the surrounding streets; a family-friendly Spirograph workshop with the House of Fairytales; a boutique selection of vintage and antiques from Bath VA, Retrouvius and the Brocant Boys; an artists’ picnic in the adjacent Old Paradise Gardens; major art prizes for the BVest Original Outfit and a pair of Tracey Neuls’ original shoes for the Best Lambeth Walk performance; a musical vintage chairs game to raise funds for ACBF charity Just for Kids Law; celebrity DJs and more.
Says Founder of the Art Car Boot Fair Karen Ashton, ‘As well as bringing an original line-up to our new location in Vauxhall, we’ll also be drawing on all the talents our exciting new locale has to offer. We’re right at the centre of Vauxhall’s burgeoning creative quarter with a fantastic array of galleries, pop-ups, and established gems like the Vauxhall City Farm, MI6, Beaconsfield Gallery and the Royal Vauxhall Tavern – so expect guys and spies, plus the odd Llama and lots of cool art in the mix this year! We’re also hoping for a guest appearance and contribution from the owner of the Newport Street Gallery. Special thanks to our new hosts U+I and The Workshop.’
Director of Communications at Vauxhall Motors Denis Chick adds: ‘The Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair is a staple event in the calendar for us at Vauxhall Motors. We’re pleased to be on board for another year, this time going back to our roots in Vauxhall, South London for an even bigger production. This event is for everyone, regardless of your art expertise and we’ll be dusting off some of our own ‘Originals’ from Vauxhall’s heritage collection.’
The full list of artists for the fair is as follows:
Artlyst| Sir Peter Blake | Gavin Turk | Mat Collishaw | Geraldine Swayne | Bob & Roberta Smith | Polly Morgan | Rachel Howard | Pam Hogg | Marcus Harvey | Vic Reeves | Kristjana S Williams | Tracey Neuls | Keith Coventry | Ian Dawson | Barry Reigate | Jane Simpson | Jessica Voorsanger | Alice Herrick | Nina Fowler | Bruce McLean with Worton Hall Studios | Mr Bingo | Paul Kindersley | Robert Rubbish | Keeler Tornero | Misha | Richard Clegg | Jake Clarke | Carrie Reichardt | Schoony | Pure Evil | Marie – Teresa Gavazzi & India Roper-Evans | Paul Sakoilsky | Trolley Books | Wilma Johnson | The Binnie Sisters | Renaissance Selfies | Bumble & Earwig | Boo Saville | X Ray Fog | Kate Knight | James Joyce | James Unsworth | Amelia Troubridge | Carla Borel | Tony Beaver | Laura New | Colin Self | Anthony Gross & Family | Christopher Baxter | Keeler Tornero | Joseph Gibson | Helen Pritchard | Edy Ferguson | Oliver Guy Watkins | Ivan Black | Darren Coffield | Jessica Albarn | David Batchelor | Dylan Thomas Book Bus | Jason Gibularo | Wildcat Will | Sophy Rickett | Cullinan & Richards | True Rocks| Sean Worrall
The Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair is a fun and exciting one-day event combining a car boot sale and an art fair. Founded and produced by Karen Ashton, a curator, independent art consultant and writer, the idea behind the Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair developed out of Joshua Compston’s ‘Fete Worse than Death’ and Gavin Turk’s ‘Livestock Market’ and ‘Articultural Shows’, Hoxton-based events that blazed a trail in the late 1990s. The Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair picks up where these events left off
The first Vauxhall 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. It has been held every year since, except for 2005. The main aim of the Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair is to be a day when artists and visitors alike can engage with art in an informal way and to pick up some real bargains to boot.
Vauxhall Motors has been manufacturing motor vehicles in the UK continuously since 1903. Vauxhall’s range spans all mainstream sectors of the vehicle market with best-selling model such as ADAM, Astra, Corsa, Cascada, Mokka, VIVA, Zafira, and Insignia regularly topping the sales charts. Vauxhall is also the largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in the UK. The company employs approximately 5000 people in the UK and exports three-quarters of its production. It is headquartered in Luton, Bedfordshire, where it also manufactures the Vivaro light commercial vehicle. A second production plant at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire produces the Astra and Astra Sports Tourer.
The Newport Street Gallery opened its doors in October 2015 to house Damian Hirst’s impressive Murderme private art collection. Designed by Caruso St John, the building won the 2016 RIBA Stirling Prize for the UK’s best new building. The Art Car Boot Fair is delighted to be working closely with Newport Street Gallery as well as with Beaconsfield Gallery, Cabinet Gallery in the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, Chewdays on Lambeth Walk, and Gasworks near the Oval.
The Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair takes place on Sunday, 9th July at Whitgift Street, London SE11 between 12 – 6 pm. Entry is priced at £5.