Emerging Artists at Art Fair Cheshire

Amy Stevenson, Emerging Artists Curator writes:

For the first time this year, Art Fair Cheshire will have a gallery entirely focussed on Emerging Artists. It has been curated by Amy Stevenson who tells us more about how she has put it together.

You may have seen our social media posts relating to the brand new exhibition opportunity for Emerging Contemporary artists at the upcoming fair, and you may have wondered how this section of the fair will be different and what purpose it serves

By giving a platform to emerging artists, we hope to ignite curiosity, spark conversation and introduce unique investment opportunities for both first time buyers and the more experienced collectors who come to Art Fair Cheshire. Although I have been lucky enough to work with world-renowned artists and some amazing collections — championing and supporting emerging creative talent is something I always seem to return to in various ways.

Studying a creative degree allowed me to understand the kind of struggles artists face first-hand; such as, finding suitable exhibition opportunities, affording the cost of a studio and balancing making artwork with other more dependable forms of employment. Possibly one of the more precarious challenges an emerging artist can face, is finding appropriate exhibition opportunities to showcase their work to the wider audience – which in turn helps them to establish a following, an artist peer network, gain feedback, make sales and ultimately have new works commissioned by a strong client base and gain gallery representation/support. Perhaps most importantly, professional exhibition opportunities increase exposure to potential collectors; helping an artist to sell work, meaning that more work can be made!

Creativity is often elusive and hard to pin down with words alone; but the feeling or emotion a piece of art can evoke, can be clear and profound – (and arresting and bewildering in equal measures!) When an artwork has this effect, and you decide that you are going to buy it, you are giving that artist tangible, positive feedback, which is invaluable – especially in the case of Emerging Artists who may be finding their feet so to speak, and experimenting with what works and what may not necessarily work so well.

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