bargehouse | OXO TOWER WHARF | SOUTHBANK | LONDON | SE1 9PH
Nov 30th - Dec 2nd
launch party Thurs 29th (6pm - 9.30pm)
Fri & Sat (11am - 8pm) Sun (11am - 6pm)
The London Illustration Fair is back with a fun packed festival of art, craft, creativity and visual culture. Bargehouse, OXO Tower Wharf plays host to our four-day illustration extravaganza with five floors of artwork, prints, workshops talks and more from some of the world’s top artists and designers.
We are an annual artist-led illustration, print and graphic design fair, bringing artists and buyers together in a unique environment. The fair offers the chance for illustration lovers to come face to face with their favourite artists and discover amazing new artwork from emerging illustrators.
To celebrate our 5th birthday we have invited five featured artists and companies to create our most engaging programme to date. With 60% of our exhibitors new to the fair, and a workshop programme that’s bigger and better than ever, this year’s fair promises to be the most exciting yet.
Read on for the latest news, competitions and information on our featured artists and partners. Sign up to our mailing list below to stay updated.
General admission £10 in advance | £12 on the door | children under 12 go in free
Workshops
This year’s event has a long list of workshops, talks and activities for all to get involved with. From drop-in tasters to in-depth masterclasses there is something for everyone. We have letterpress, collage, screen-printing, stop-motion, map drawing, mono printing and ‘create your own dinosaur‘ to name a few.
For a full list of workshops per day check out our programme
featured artists
Morag myerscough
Adorning the entrance space at this year will be the bold and beautiful work of Morag Myerscough. She will also be hosting a talk about her work and travels on Friday at 3pm. Book your place now so you don’t miss out!
Morag’s mantra is ‘make happy those who are near and those who are far will come’. Born and bred in London, Morag has always lived in the city and has been fascinated by how colour and pattern can change brutal urban environments and people’s perceptions of spaces into places. Morag is known around the world for her distinct approach - making large scaffold structures adorned with neon geometric patterns and shapes, often incorporating positive messaging hand painted onto plywood.
Billy Clark
“My process always starts with the pencil, first sketching and then simplifying the forms until they feel right. ”
Billy Clark is a London based illustrator who has caught our eye in recent years. His muted colour scheme and rich, unique style made him the perfect candidate for a featured artist this year.
For this year’s fair, Billy has produced a range of exclusive images around the theme of being an illustrator. His work will be seen on marketing material and merchandise at the fair. He will also be at the fair exhibiting his artwork so keep an eye out for him.
Billy has worked with some of the world’s biggest brands, including MTV, Adidas, Size?, Wired Magazine, Liberty and many more. He cites Paul Rand, Edward McNight Kauffer and David Hockney as his influences.
GREAT ORMOND STREET HOSPITAL
THEn. now. always. campaign
Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity has joined forces with a group of illustrators and designers to create a limited collection of bespoke 80’s inspired t-shirts and prints with all the profits going to Great Ormond Street Hospital. The whole collection will be available to buy at the fair this year.
The 1980’s saw the launch of the Wishing Well Appeal, the first major fundraising appeal from Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity which kickstarted decades of fundraising. The charity is celebrating thirty years of support with a new 80’s themed campaign, Then Now Always, which includes the launch of this retro collection of t-shirts and prints where each design has been inspired by the decade in which the Wishing Well Appeal took place.
Thirty years on from the Wishing Well Appeal, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity is still raising money to support the hospital’s most urgent fundraising needs which include pioneering research to find treatments for the most complex childhood illnesses, providing advanced equipment and supporting the rebuilding and refurbishment of the hospital to provide state-of-the-art facilities to match the hospital’s world-class care.
People of print
We’re thrilled to be joined by People of Print, bringing with them selected artwork and items from their Department Store.
People of Print is a unique creative community who collaborate with brands, companies and educational institutions to execute fresh and impressive campaigns, create media partnerships and put on events. Their respected directory of illustrators, designers and printers exists to both educate and inspire.
The PoP team will also be working directly with a number of exhibiting artists producing exclusive tote bags that you can print yourself. Get in line as they will be printing a selected number of free totes during the launch party.
Bread Collective
Bread Collective is a network of creatives working across a variety of disciplines, based in the heart of East London. For the event Bread will create a large scale mural at the fair based on their distinctive typographic style.
Bread will also collaborate with a group of Sixth Form students to create a mural based around patterns, form and perspective.
“We have an authentic design aesthetic and aim to maintain the balance between digital and traditional media, embracing both past and present techniques.”
Competitions and Creative partners
Parblo & Arrtx drawing competition
We have partnered up with Parblo, digital drawing tablets, and ARRTX paint pens to bring you an exciting drawing challenge.
In the lead-up to the London Illustration Fair 2018 we are asking artists to send in a hand drawn pencil sketch of any design, a design that could then potentially be coloured by ARRTX pens or Parblo’s drawing tablet if you are one of our successful winners!
We have 5 runners up ARRTX pen packs to give away and the main prize of Parblo’s Coast16 drawing tablet. Artists wishing to enter the competition must send a clear image of their design, any size, to Instagram feed @thelondonillustrationfair with the hashtags #ParbloARRTXcomp and #illustratelondon. This design will then be judged by the LIF team and winners will be announced and prizes given out at the Launch Party, Thursday 28th Nov.
Competition ends 28th Nov
2018 PRINTING PARNERS
![printing-partner[4][1].jpg](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52f658d5e4b0b19928bf39b9/1541536680662-SFKM4CIELUS2SK7H0BRG/printing-partner%5B4%5D%5B1%5D.jpg)
Pixartprinting specialises in providing customised online printing services, producing magazines, catalogues, labels, packaging, printing on textiles and much more. Its online shop is the largest web-to-print operation in Europe, offering clients quick and easy access to the best printing solutions and a huge product catalogue.
Pixartprinting is an e-commerce company, and everything they do revolves around the web. This online presence is made possible by 770 passionate and talented people who work day in, day out at its headquarters to handle and produce 10,000 print jobs a day.
Over the years Pixartprinting has become a well-oiled machine, able to offer their customers a high-quality service with delivery in as little as 24 hours. Each of their products can be personalised, giving users extraordinary freedom to customise their order.
“The success of our customers is our main goal, and the driving force behind everything we do.”
PIXART DISCOUNT OFFER
Name: TLIF18 Discount: 50% Max amount: £150
Deadline: 31/12/2018 Only 1 job, just for new clients.
The disclaimer:The promotion is reserved for new customers and can be applied to one print job from the whole catalogue with a maximum net total of £150,00. The promocode is valid until 31/12/2018 and cannot be used in conjunction with other promotional codes.
judging panel 2018
Marcroy Smith (People of Print) | Owen Philips (Bread) | Morag Myerscough
videos
Many thanks to the lovely Elenora who has produced some wonderful videos for us over the years www.eleonoracecchini.com
LIF 2016
LIF 2015
Thierry Noir - LIF 2015
LIF 2014 - Set-up timelaps
Meet the team - LIF 2014
Ruby Taylor - Tropicana Festival Summer 2014
A good deal
Bespoke framers Felstead Studios is offering 10% off all their services to all LIF customers. Please quote The London Illustration Fair when ordering in store to receive your discount.
Based in East London, the studio has brought together a group of talented and creative individuals whose understanding of framing stems from 25 years experience in the art industries. Our staff are all artists or makers first and framers second. This rule allows us to fully appreciate, understand, and advise effectively for each work of art.
