The Other Art Fair

Repelling the Mainstream

The Other Art Fair is returning for 2023, and it’s going to be weird as hell. We’re talking utterly bizarre immersive experiences, art that ~literally~ moves you, and towering installations that get the heart racing. Don’t you think it’s time you step out of your comfort zone?

No teasers yet (you’ll have to come along to the fair for that). Instead, we’ll run you through some of the most unexpected and memorable experiences and features we’ve hosted over the years, that lives up to our name ‘other’.

Whole Glory.

Remember that rhetorical question your mum used to ask when you were about to do something totally irresponsible – “If someone told you to jump off a bridge, would you?”. Well, if you’re the type of person that’d respond “sure!”, this ones for you.

Our 2018 feature ‘Whole Glory’ put your fate in the hands of acclaimed tattoo artist Scott Campbell, as visitors put their hand through a hole in the wall only to pull it out shortly after with a permanent tattoo they had no input in. Yep, you heard that right.

Campbell, who has tattooed the likes of Heath Ledger, Marc Jacobs, Orlando Bloom and Courtney Love, explains “It’s a chance for people to not take their physical selves so seriously, and take part in an exchange of faith that will literally change who they are for the rest of their life.

 

Strip off, stand proud.

Now usually at public events, if you suddenly have the urge to get naked, you’re likely to be escorted out by security. Not at this 2019 edition of the fair… 

Artist Mike Perry brought his “Get Nude, Get Drawn” project alongside six well-known illustrators to Brooklyn and encouraged fair-goers to be their muse. Although the posing experience was in a hidden room, the drawings were then presented in the fair for everyone to view (and buy!). 

 

Reincarnate into a Cat. 

We’ve all wondered what it might be like to live the life of our pet. No responsibilities, no rent, no worries. In 2019, artist Gary Baseman brought that vision to life with ‘The Purr Room’, a theatrical sanctuary nestled in the middle of our fair. 

Inspired by his animal companion and best friend, Blackie the Cat, Gary built a temple-sized version of his feline friend which visitors could walk into and be met by deep, grounding, meditative purr noises. Likely one of those ‘you had to be there’ moments.

 

Just a few highlights that scratch the surface of what makes us ‘other’. Join us for our 2023 editions to experience art differently.