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£100,000 worth of art to be given away free after capital art fair
Evening Standard5 Sep 2008
Work by 50 British contemporary artists will be given away free at the end of a six-day exhibition.
Paintings, sculptures and installations by Gavin Turk, Stella Vine and Bob and Roberta Smith and more will be handed out at the end of the Free Art Fair, with fans expected to queue overnight.
Together the pieces are estimated to be worth around £100,000, with individual works worth several thousand pounds.
The fair, opening at Portman Village, Marble Arch, runs from 13 to 19 October. Details of where to queue will be posted on the website. The event was the idea of artist Jasper Joffe, who wanted to challenge the commercialism of art.
He said: "When people just talk about art in terms of the market place it distorts why we are doing it. This gives anyone the chance to own a serious piece of art."
The Free Art Fair contrasts with the Zoo and the Frieze Art Fair, two of the world's biggest such events which are on in London at the same time. A programme of performance art will run alongside the show and local businesses will offer special events and discounts.
