Pick Me Up
Contemporary Graphic Art Fair at Somerset House
22 March – 1 April 2012
Pick Me Up, the UK’s first annual contemporary graphic art fair and festival, celebrating graphic arts in all its forms, returns for its biggest edition yet this spring. Open from 22 March to 1 April, the fair will showcase the very best illustrators, graphic novelists, cartoonists, and graphic designers from around the UK and the world with original works and prints available to purchase from just £10. A selection of the most exciting graphic art collectives and galleries have been invited to occupy Somerset House’s Embankment Galleries to create unique spaces and installations, including Nelly Duff, the London gallery that represents among others Barak Obama’s favourite street artist Ben Eine and the fine line drawings of Jessica Albarn, sister to Blur’s Damon Albarn.
The fair offers the opportunity to meet the artists, watch them work and get involved, with a lively events programme ranging from a children’s illustration weekend to a portrait booth with Guardian regulars Modern Toss, workshops on comics and cartooning from Pick Me Up favourites NoBrow and SelfMadeHero and a Paper Toy Workshop with Creative Review magazine. New this year will be a space dedicated to workshops, live music, spoken word and live drawing with a bar open every evening.
This year, Pick Me Up’s artists in residence will be the London based illustration collective Peepshow, who will present their Museum of Objects and Origins and invite a rosta of special guests, as well as running workshops throughout the fair.
Also part of the fair is Pick Me Up Selects, an exhibition of 20 specially selected international rising stars of the graphic arts world including Riikka Sormunen, Mimi Leung and Zim and Zou. Each will be producing new, exclusive work to see and buy. As well as providing a platform for emerging talent, Daily Specials will bring the finest names in illustration to the heart of the gallery on a daily basis including legendary graphic artist George Hardie, who was responsible for many cult 60s and 70s album covers such as Led Zepplin’s debut and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon. Other guests will include Mr Bingo, character designer James Jarvis, children’s book illustrators Bruce Ingham and Marion Deuchar, who will run her Art Factory workshop for families at the fair.
Other highlights include East London based gallery Nelly Duff’s pop-up zoo of animal characters made from a jungle of newly commissioned prints and independent publishing champions Beach London’s selection of prints and range of limited edition and small-press artists’ books and zines displayed in a vintage library setting. There will be international contributions from Netherlands gallery Ship of Fools and Spanish duo Cachetejack, as well as a special focus on talent from the South West of England from SOMA gallery and Scrumping with Puck Studio. With lots more workshops and weekend events, as well as talks, performances, DJs and portfolio reviews, the 11 day fair promises to be the most exciting yet.
All work on display at Pick Me Up is available to purchase with prices to suit every pocket from £10 to £500. The full programme of exhibitors and events will be detailed on our website www.somersethouse.org.uk