The Other Art Fair, Truman Brewery Space London March 2025

Art fairs are unusual and intriguing events. On the one hand, their principal purpose is to sell artwork and also to expose a wide range of artists and galleries to the art-buying public. An art fair is not a cultural event, and it’s very, very different from the nonprofit or museum branch of the art world. Ultimately, the primary focus is on maximising sales. Yet art fairs are reliably the most captivating places to find innovative and fresh art. As Annabel Keenan writes in Artsy, ‘Art fairs offer the best opportunity to see a snapshot of the art market today.’

A few months ago, I wrote about the 1-54 African art fair in London and how amazing it was; truly, it was one of the best things I saw all year last year, and it’s the best art fair I’ve seen in a very long time. The big art fairs get most of the attention—in particular, the Frieze Art Fair, which comes to London every autumn, and the even bigger ones abroad, such as the monumental Art Basel and the legendary Armoury Show. Art Cologne is probably the oldest of the fairs, and there are newer global fairs I’d definitely love to visit, such as Art Dubai and Mexico’s Zona Maco, which showcases Latin American art.

Art fairs typically feature galleries, where they set up a stand and display a limited selection of their works for sale. Thus, the art gallery must make a difficult decision about which artists to show and which works to show. Obviously, the politics involved in this choice must be excruciating. However, this process is very useful for collectors and dealers because it allows the dealer and collector to create a relationship that will hopefully be long-lasting. The only issue with this approach is that the art fair process largely excludes the artists. So, for example, when I was at the 154 festival, as much as I enjoyed it, it would have been wonderful to have actually met some of the artists. Still, it just wasn’t possible, although I had some wonderful chats with gallerists, which I really appreciated.

The other art fair, which comes to London twice a year, is a different kind of fare entirely. The Other Art Fair is a project of Saatchi Online, the online gallery/sales platform that has a global reach and allows artists to showcase and sell their work. This was one of the first consistent quality online platforms, and it has certainly grown and gathered strength. I admit that, when I was a young artist, I wasn’t keen on the activities of the Tory marketing man Mr Saatchi and his collection, nor the way he promoted the YBAs. But over time, especially as I studied art history, I came to value Mr Saatchi’s contribution to the arts. Although I miss the old Saatchi Gallery on Boundary Road, I like the expansive site in Chelsea, and I especially like the Other Art Fair.

The Other Art Fair is an artist-focused fair. The artists book the stand, choose their own work, and conduct the sales themselves. The fair’s main payment system handles on-site art sales, which cost between £1,620 and £2,155 plus VAT for the four-day event. All art sales are subject to an 18% + 18% + VAT commission, which pays processing fees and gives buyers free wrapping. This might seem like a big investment, but the fare is not designed for people who cannot charge more than a few pounds. The works chosen are high quality, and the artists must surely make their investment back plus a tidy profit, given the crowds I noticed when I visited on the Friday evening. I could see that many sales were happening. Another excellent initiative offered at the fair is the Own Art scheme. Own Art is a national initiative that makes buying contemporary art and craft affordable by providing interest-free credit for the purchase of original work. You can buy an artwork and pay for it, interest-free, over time through monthly debits.

I didn’t buy anything on my visit but I got to see a range of phenomenal art by different artists and collected plenty of contact info so I can follow the artists I like. The fair is particularly strong on painting. I saw a lot of really excellent work,, and it did make me think about the fact that I’ve seen much better work in the art fairs these past 12 months than I have in the nonprofit sector galleries and museums. These sorts of places seem to explicitly shy away from high-quality artwork made by skilled artists in favour of championing what they consider to be marginalised or political work. I’m not sure this is the best use of public money,, especially since I don’t particularly trust the functionaries to decide who or what is marginalised or political. As a person who writes about art and who has been educated for many years,, I believe that the best way to inspire people is to show them high-quality work that enthrals them and challenges them – not artwork that simply confirms their worst fears about the world.

The next Other Art Fair will be in October 2025 in London,, and I will be present. There are also fairs held in Melbourne, LA, Chicago, Brooklyn NY, Dallas TX and Sydney. I’m not sure if they are all as big as London.

I will leave you with some images of some of the artist’s works that I liked the most. I’m aware that the selection is highly subjective, and with a fair as big as the Other Art Fair, I’m sure there are many things that I’ve been forced to leave out simply because of space, but rest assured I will go again to come back to you with more examples of what contemporary artists are up to.

THE OTHER ART FAIR