London Illustration Print Fair

Towards the end of November 2019, I spent a rare day away from my studio space in Nottingham to take a trip down to the Big Smoke for the first day of the London Illustration Print Fair. Held at the Bargehouse, OXO Tower Wharf, the fair brought togehter artists, illustrators and printmakers from around the globe to showcase and sell their work to an audience of art lovers.

The fair stretched over 5 floors, each packed with a bustling variety of stalls, demonstrations and activities. As I wandered around, I found that many of the exhibitors were more than happy to engage in a chat so I had some lovely conversations with several of the artists – most noteably was with the Dutch illustrator Michael Van Kekem, Ollie St. Clair Terry who was demonstrating live lino art printing at his stall (I was already familiar with his work produced by Dizzy Ink, Nottingham so it was great to meet him in person), with Charlie Evaristo Boyce who was there as part of a collective, selling panels from his ‘Amazing’ installation situated at Dreamland Margate, and with Rupert from design duo Rude who I’ve followed for years on social media and really admire the work they produce.

My legs got a good workout that day, walking up and down the stairs between floors (several times) to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Thankfully there was a bar at the top that offered a chance to enjoy a beer and take stock of the many great art pieces the fair had to offer. On the train home I felt exhausted but really happy with the prints I had purchased. I’ll definitely be keen to see what the London Illustration Print Fair 2020 has to offer.