This week: Affordable Art Fair 2012

Get your wallets at the ready – the Affordable Art Fair is back, and its bringing with it its recession-busting original paintings that don’t cost an arm and a leg.

The famous art fair – founded by Will Ramsay in 1999 after the popularity of his Battersea-based ‘Will’s Art Warehouse’, which championed unknown artists and offered pieces for as little as £50 – is coming home to the capital once again and is doing the London double with one show in Battersea at the end of the month and another in Hampstead in early November.

This time around, you’ll be able to see (and buy – it’s affordable, remember) pieces from 111 galleries who are exhibiting established names alongside the up-and-comers. Prices range from between the bargain price of £40 and a more luxurious £4,000 and you can find work from pros such as Damien Hirst, Mark Quinn and Stanley Donwood (who’s penned much of Radiohead’s artwork), as well as those fresh on the art radar, like artists represented by galleries Degreeart and My Life In Art.

Visitors south of the river can also view the latest work from art colleges in the Recent Graduates Exhibition, and for those of you with a really modest budget, the Battersea Fair will have space dedicated to art under £500, and ‘Really, Really, Affordable’ tours to help you unearth those bargain gems.

If you’re a bit of a dab hand with a paintbrush, there’s also the opportunity for you to unleash your creative side; there will be pop-up printmaking, sculpture, painting and collage workshops if you fancy getting your hands dirty, and for the little ones, the Education Programme provides hands-on workshops and Activity Packs to help them get creative. There’s also a café to satisfy those rumbling tums and Laithwaite’s wine bar to serve sophisticated tipples while you soak up atmosphere and the art.

This is sure to attract both novice and expert buyers alike; bargains like this don’t come to town very often, so book you tickets now to avoid disappointment.

Affordable Art Fair @ Evolution, Battersea Park SW11 4NJ from 24-28 October, and @ Lower Fairground Site, East Heath Road, Hampstead, NW3 1TH 31 October 4 November. Tickets from £10. For more info and to buy tickets, go to affordableartfair.com