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Now celebrating its 15th year, the Edinburgh Art Fair is a firm fixture on the Edinburgh cultural calendar and it is expected to welcome over 15,000 people through its doors between 21 – 24 November 2019. We take a look at Scotland's longest running modern and contemporary Art Fair.
Entry information, dates and prices
Edinburgh Corn Exchange 21 - 24 November 2019
Doors open 11am each day
Day ticket £5 / Concessions £3
Weekend pass £7 / Concessions £5
Tickets available on the door or in advance from https://www.artedinburgh.com
Sponsors for the third year are BTO Solicitors, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Follow the Edinburgh Art Fair on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram for the latest event updates.
How to buy art
In popular culture, purchasing art is sometimes depicted as the domain of the terribly wealthy - and terribly pretentious. The Edinburgh Art Fair exists, in part, to challenge that notion: to demonstrate that buying art can be fun, stimulating, and democratic, no matter your price bracket. With works available for as little as £100, there's no reason to discount yourself as a potential art curator. New to it? Daunted? Here's how to seek out a piece you love.
Art: is it a sound investment?
Stories abound of people purchasing a piece of art at a basement price, and, years later, selling it for a small fortune. But is buying art really a means of making a mint? And if so, how should you approach investing?
Art as therapy
Looking at art is about more than pleasure or a potential purchase: it can serve as a balm to the stresses of modern life, be they work-related, financial concerns, or the anxiety created by smart phone dependency.
Studies show 35 minutes of contemplation within an art environment reduces concentrations of cortisol – commonly considered the 'stress hormone.' A wander around the Art Fair, then, affects your physiology: helping you to feel physically calmer.
A study conducted at the University College of London also demonstrated that looking at art you find beautiful increases blood flow to the brain and releases dopamine. This is the same response your body has when you gaze upon someone you love - an utterly intoxicating physical response, and intensely pleasurable.
For children, the benefits of looking at art are even more extraordinary. Most notably, they include developing the child's critical thinking skills, by encouraging interpretation, and promoting empathy, if they study art that depicts people in different times and places.
It's great for adult's mental development as well - looking at art triggers pattern recognition, setting our neurons firing, helping our brain make connections between past recollections and present concerns, promoting mental agility.
From a more philosophical perspective, "art edits down complexity and helps us to focus, albeit briefly, on the most meaningful aspects of life." (Alain de Botton, Art as Therapy)
Charitable Causes
Since the Art Fair first launched in 2005 they have been supporting the work of charitable causes, inviting groups to take part in the event to try and bring art to as wide an audience as possible and also ensure that their work gives something back to the community.
Win! Tickets to the Edinburgh Art Fair preview night and a Valvona & Crolla hamper
The Edinburgh Art Fair is offering a prize package to one lucky art lover – two tickets to the opening night preview, where a limited number of people will get to peruse the art ahead of the crowds – and a sumptuous Valvona and Crolla hamper full of delectable deli goods.