Fun at the fair

London graphic art fair Pick Me Up opened last night at London’s Somerset House. Here’s a peek at what you can expect from the show if you pop down over the next fortnight.

The main section of the show is dedicated to 24 individual designers, with work from the likes of Kate Moross, McBess, Sarah Arnett, James Graham and Nigel Peake.

Publisher Nobrow and magazine-cum-design studio It’s Nice That have also curated spaces, mainly dedicated to recent publications and featured artists.

Downstairs Birmingham and London-based collective Them Lot  has created a city, each part definite by each member’s distinctive style. Them Lot will be filming visitors in front of a green screen during Pick Me Up and then beaming them into the city for film produced after the show.

Upstairs, graphic designer Anthony Burrill has an open studio, where he will be working from for the remainder of the show. They’ll be more bustle around this area during working hours – last night the space was characterised by visitors tentatively making their own Burrill-style prints with scissors, glue and a photocopier –  including live mural drawing by Ian Stevenson, a 3D paper model workshop by Emily Forgot and DJ sets, including one from Creative Review’s own Gavin Lucas.

Next to Burrill there’s live screenprinting and exhibitions from Print Club London and areas curated by collectives Puck, Evening Tweed, Concrete Hermit, Nous Vous, Ditto Press and Jaguar Shoes. If you haven’t seen it before here’s Jaguar Shoes Collective’s excellent film Bad Things That Could Happen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hIKKYv_3Ic

And it’s not just exhibitions. There’s also a  host of events and talks coming up, including Heavy Pencil with James Jarvis and Andrew Rae tonight and next week with Luke Best and Ben Fry and the Motika symposium chaired by Adrian Shaughnessy, which aims to discuss issues in contemporary illustration.

Pick Me Up runs until 27 March at Somerset House, Embankment Galleries, Strand, London WC2R.