HELLO
To highlight and champion the impact of Affordable Art Fair on the art market over the past 25 years, we asked our incredible exhibitors to complete an in-depth survey. The findings have helped to create this short report, providing key insights that demonstrate how participation in our fairs has benefitted so many small-to-medium sized galleries. Whether it's meeting new collectors, establishing a strong brand, or driving art sales, this past quarter of a century has certainly proved that there is so much to be gained by exhibiting with us.
When diving into the data of our report, three key themes surfaced. Most notably, that there is clear demand for art fairs and, specifically, Affordable Art Fair. Exhibitors also praised the significant contribution to the sector made by our fairs, whilst also noting our efforts to promote, support and catalyse their development as a business.
I am so proud of all that we've achieved together since 1999. From the very first Affordable Art Fair in London's Battersea Park to now organising 17 fairs across 14 cities globally, and still growing!
Thank you to all the exhibitors who contributed to both this report, and 25 years of inspiring people around the world to own art.
Here's to the next 25!
Will Ramsay Founder and CEO
Photo: Katie Lee Photography
Hutcheon
KEY INSIGHTS
There is a clear demand for art fairs, specifically,
Affordable Art Fair has made a significant contribution to the sector
Affordable Art Fair has promoted, supported and become the catalyst for gallery and emerging artists’ development
Affordable Art Fair
ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS IN THIS SURVEY
THE GALLERIES
We conducted this survey at the beginning of 2024, asking our network of international small-to-mediumsized galleries various questions about their experience of exhibiting with Affordable Art Fair.
Responses came from 23 countries, from Australia to Belgium, Hong Kong to Stockholm, reflecting our global perspective. Of these gallery businesses, 35% are sole traders, and a further 46% have just 2-3 employees, meaning most are working with a lean team.
Where is your gallery based?
How many full-time employees does your gallery employ? 35% surveyed are sole traders
THE GALLERIES
Most participating galleries (59%) have 1 physical space, and 64% have been operating between 5 and 25 years.
59% surveyed have one physical space
How many years has your gallery been operating?
How many physical spaces do you have?
THE GALLERIES
54% of our galleries present 1–5 exhibitions a year welcoming clients into their physical spaces to explore a curated showcase of artists.
53% surveyed present 1–5 exhibitions each year
How many physical exhibitions do you hold at your gallery each year?
THE GALLERIES
Internationality appears key when making decisions around art fair participation.
61% of galleries presented at 1–5 art fairs in 2023, with a further 39% exhibiting at 6 or more art fairs.
Of this participation, 69% of galleries went global by participating in a fair outside their home country.
69% surveyed exhibited globally in 2023
How many art fairs did you exhibit at during 2023?
THE RESULTS
KEY POINT 1
There is a clear demand for art fairs, specifically, Affordable Art Fair
Small- to medium-sized galleries are ambitious
Growth is on the mind of our small- to medium-sized galleries. 49% are powering ahead with the aim of significantly increasing the size of their business, demonstrating big ambitions to reach new markets and expand their networks.
Those with a more incremental view of growth make up 42% of galleries, who are seeking to slightly increase their business’ current size.
How much of a priority is growing your business revenue?
49% surveyed prioritise revenue growth
Demand for art fairs remains strong
Small to medium galleries overwhelmingly (85%) believe that art fairs are essential to their market. Of these, those with 1–3 employees are considerably more likely (60%) to strongly agree with an art fair being paramount to their success, whereas the portion is smaller for galleries with more employees (48%).
No matter the scale of ambition, art fairs play an important role in these gallery’s business plans.
‘Art fairs are essential to the smallto medium-sized gallery market’.
85% surveyed believe art fairs are essential
We see art fairs as a way not to only grow in revenue, but also our contact list, and the gallery's reputation.
We have been looking into events that can bring this reputation increase and brand exposure, in addition to revenue.
3 employees, Lisbon, Portugal
Top channels that drive art sales
Demand for art fairs remains strong
When it comes to the main avenues of income for galleries, we continue to see strong demand for art fairs. 88% stated that art fairs are within their top 5 channels for driving those all-important art sales, which is way above other traditionally popular drivers, such as gallery exhibitions (63%), website enquiries (48%), or even email marketing (45%).
Compared to well-known third-party art-selling websites, art fairs top the charts, with only 16% of galleries placing these websites in their top 5 channels. So, while ecommerce may be essential to a great deal of luxury goods retailers, we’re seeing an art market that is heavily dependent on in-person sales.
Most galleries plan to increase their participation in art fairs
Do you anticipate increasing your participation in art fairs?
Art fairs are recognised as hugely important to our galleries, with over three quarters (78%) anticipating an increase in the number of art fairs they’ll apply to exhibit with as their business continues to evolve.
The reasons for this differ, but can largely be attributed to those galleries who utilise art fairs as their main channel for driving art sales (97%) and mailing list sign-ups (92%).
78% surveyed plan to exhibit at more art fairs
After 15 years of experience, I am convinced that the art market has changed from gallery exhibitions to more and more art fairs regarding sales.
Sole trader, Munich, Germany
Art
fairs are especially important to small- to medium-sized and online -only galleries
Time constraints can often mean that Affordable Art Fair plays a pivotal role by consistently offering a ready-made marketing platform.
One third (37%) of small-to-medium sized galleries are artistowned, many are a sole trader, and a further 46% employ just 2-3 people, which means Affordable Art Fair's marketing and PR campaigns can be relied on to increase gallery visibility while relieving the workload of the gallery.
Likewise, art fairs are especially important to online-only galleries. Without a physical space, art fairs offer the opportunity to connect face-to-face with clients, as well as other colleagues from which younger galleries can learn.
Art fairs are a targeted way to reach a collector.
I'm a virtual gallery for now. All the funding I would have put into rent, I put into fairs where I know I'm going to get thousands of art collectors through the door.
The more fairs I do, the better my business.
In a world that is constantly becoming more digital, we need to continue to offer opportunities for our clients to experience work in person, because we believe art is for everyone.
2–3 employees Charleston, United States
To reach a wider audience and give exposure to our growing stable of artists especially as we don’t have a permanent gallery space.
United Kingdom
Sole trader Annapolis, United States
Sole trader London,
There’s confidence in the health of the sector
Trust in the sector is strong amongst participating galleries, which makes for a positive outlook. 60% look to the future with hopefulness, confident that their business will see improvement in 2024 and beyond.
We love to see that 22% of these galleries state that they are highly optimistic. We are, too!
How optimistic are you that business will improve in 2024?
KEY POINT 2
Affordable Art Fair has made a significant contribution to the sector
Affordable Art Fair delivers gallery business objectives
There are several key business objectives that are pivotal to the success of our galleries and many are driven by participation in Affordable Art Fairs. Nearly all use art fairs as their top channel for revenue (99%) and art sales volume (93%), stating this as an important or very important business objective. Whilst 96% view acquiring new clients in the same way and 84% shared that they exhibit for general marketing exposure.
When it comes to meeting these targets, Affordable Art Fair’s contribution is seen as highly positive. 96% felt that their experience of exhibiting with us met their expectations.
Which objectives are most important when exhibiting at Affordable Art Fair?
96% surveyed say their expectations were met exhibiting at Affordable Art Fair
Art fairs deliver art sales
What percentage of your annual turnover came from art fair sales in 2023?
Art fairs are key to creating revenue for galleries. 42% of participating galleries generated over 50% of their annual turnover at an art fair in 2023, whilst 14% generated 76% or more!
Profit, alongside revenue, is key for our galleries, and we offer additional coaching and support to new exhibitors and those entering new markets to ensure they have a successful edition. This includes coaching on artist selection, tips on making sales, through to practical elements that ensure a smooth fair experience.
42% surveyed generated over 50% of their income from art fair sales
Affordable Art Fair has a loyal gallery base
We build loyal, collaborative relationships with our galleries, promoting long-lasting engagement with our brand.
Half (47%) of survey-taking galleries have returned to exhibit with Affordable Art Fair 6 or more times, demonstrating our commitment to nurture and champion small-to-medium size gallery businesses when they join our family of exhibitors.
'Our gallery has expanded significantly thanks to Affordable Art Fair!
With exhibitions on four continents, we've witnessed numerous success stories attributable to these fairs. Imagine being a young, emerging artist thrilled to get your very first show in London or New York and achieving a sold-out exhibition. Our staff is consistently energized as we continually break our own sales records. The experience extends beyond just transactions – we've formed meaningful connections with new friends in other galleries and with collectors who have significantly influenced our artistic journey.
A heartfelt thanks to Affordable Art Fair for these incredible opportunities!’
4-5 employees, Bromont, Canada
KEY POINT 3
Affordable Art Fair has promoted, supported and become the catalyst for gallery and emerging artists’ development
“
Affordable Art Fair creates the community required for gallery success
Many experiences of success are shared amongst Affordable Art Fair exhibitors.
We’re proud to have created a community at Affordable Art Fair, where exhibiting galleries can share their artworks with 1000s of art buyers, connect with a peer network, meet potential new artists through our Recent Graduates and Emerging Artist programmes, as well as receive coaching and support from our expert team.
Affordable Art Fair has been instrumental in the growth of my gallery. It has not only helped to make the gallery credible with collectors and artists, but it has also given me the support and confidence to believe in myself and the gallery and help push it forward.
With the enthusiasm of the team, the advice and the marketing, my gallery has become one people want to visit. It has given numerous emerging artists an opportunity to exhibit and sell their work even outside of the fair.
Sole trader, London, United Kingdom
Affordable Art Fair has helped us build a relationship with clients that is unmatched. We have people reach out to us asking if we will be back! It's a great way to connect people from all over to experience the power of art.
2-3 employees, Charleston, United States
We started via the platform project in Amsterdam, where we (artist duo) could present our work for the first time during an art fair. That grew into starting the gallery and representing beside ourselves also other (female) artists. We like to use our platform (and money) to help other artists grow.
2-3 employees, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Affordable Art Fair plays an important role in sustaining galleries and artists
The survey results offer numerous heart-warming stories that display how deeply proud our galleries feel about their individual business growth. This arises from a plethora of successes, whether that's advancing their artists’ careers, helping emerging artists towards making a living through their work, or developing and nurturing their clients’ tastes.
We’re delighted at this finding in the survey results – and likewise we are proud of the success they have seen at our fairs and the relationships we have built with our close network of galleries.
'I have taken a lot of artists from obscurity to the fair and put them in a completely different market. I have encouraged them to paint bigger and double, triple and sometimes quadruple their prices. While I cannot say that I have a business that allows artists to leave their day jobs, I know that I have improved the income of many a single mum and dad. At the same time, I have been able to make a living and stay friends with all my artists. To me that is a success story!’
3 employees, London, United Kingdom
'My art business had been active in Asia and the USA since 1997, but my first European art fair was Affordable Art Fair Battersea in 2002. Not knowing what to expect, I took the smallest available stand and shipped 15 large framed paintings from Vietnam to London.
Within 48 hours, everything had sold. The fair director at the time was very unhappy with my stand's bare walls, and I promised her it would never happen again.
Although I've had over 55 amazing Affordable Art Fairs since then, I have kept my promise to never again display empty walls.’
Sole trader, New York City, United States
Galleries value the diversity of audiences at Affordable Art Fair
How important is equity, diversity and inclusion to your gallery business?
Given that Affordable Art Fair is built on the premise that anyone can become an art collector, it isn’t surprising that galleries value our ability to inspire a diverse audience.
This aligns with the needs of galleries as 71% of participating galleries state that equity, diversity and inclusion is either important or very important to their business.
71% surveyed state that equity, diversity and inclusion is important to their business
'I like the mixed audience at Affordable Art Fair – when everyone from students to wealthy entrepreneurs is enthusiastic about art.’
5 employees, Nuremberg, Germany
‘Through Affordable Art Fair we are grateful to have been able to introduce the genre of Japanese printmaking to a wider audience, many who started out as novice buyers have become serious collectors over the years.’
Sole trader, London, United Kingdom
Galleries appreciate the friendly team and professional organisation
We have expert teams in every market who work tirelessly to create the best possible fair, at every edition. This doesn’t go unnoticed by exhibitors. Respondents appreciated our professionalism and organisation.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the organisers for their impeccable coordination and to the attendees for their enthusiasm and support.
Participating in the Affordable Art Fair reaffirmed our commitment to making art accessible to all and left us eager to continue our journey of sharing beauty, inspiration, and creativity with the world.’
Sole trader, London, United Kingdom
It's been a year since we discovered Affordable Art Fair and we are your biggest fans! The teams are always remarkably nice people.
Sole trader, Munich, Germany
SUMMARY
, we are immensely proud of the exhibitor community we have created and the countless business success stories of which we have been a part. It’s wonderful to , particularly Affordable Art Fair, and that we are seen as a positive, supportive contributor to the sector.
medium size galleries have chosen to exhibit with us year after year, and that we’ve been Here's to many more years of
Thank you to all exhibitors who participated in our survey to help
Photography
