I was pleased to discover that Pick Me Up was on during my visit to London. Billed as an affordable graphic arts festival, I had high hopes of discovering some new artists and picking up a few new things. There was certainly lots to look at – the ground floor had more formal display walls by individual artists, the top floor had rooms curated by agencies and collectives and the middle floor was a ramshackle free for all of artist tables, workshops and more.
There was a lot of great artwork on show and some fun things to do like letterpress and screenprinting, plus a bookshop and various daily activities and talks. BUT, after paying £10 to get in, I found it hard to spend any more cash and neither of us ended up buying anything or even doing any of the activities, which all cost money too. There was also a lack of cheap things like postcards and badges that I can usually be tempted into buying. Instead I just took lots of photos and checked out the artists’ websites when I got back. My favourites were Jessica Das‘ Cat Island, Billy‘s painted wooden objects and gocco prints by El Horno.
Pick Me Up is such a great idea, especially how everything is for sale, but £10 is pretty pricey. I assume the artists have to pay for their spaces too so it seems like a rough deal for them too. Anyway, I did really enjoy it, but I’m not sure I would go again.
