We need something positive in this strange and uncertain time with the uncertainty of the coronavirus and its future impact on our lives and our economy.  The Affordable Art Fair provided one of the last glimmers of sunshine, before art and other fairs disappear for a few months.  Earlier in the week, at Excel, the second afternoon of normally-popular Cloud/Data/IT fairs made the Marie Celeste look positively busy with huge swathes of empty deserted seating where in previous years multi-million deals would have been discussed.

At the Affordable Art Fair, it was good to see the range of exhibitors from as far away as Australia, Canada, the USA and South Korea complimenting the UK and European exhibitors giving visitors a wide range of options to buy and invest in art for the future, with a huge range of artistic options.   Perhaps a sign of the times, however, the Project displays of previous years were no longer here, nor were there sculptures outside as you drove or walked in.  There was a more restrained atmosphere than previously, perhaps understandably.  Let’s hope that lots of collectors buy at affordable prices and make the fair a success.