Showcase Cities.

Having signed up for an art showcase many months ago, the time came around for it to actually happen. Elated yet broken from dissertation submission fulfilment, I packed up my work safely and got on a train to London, the seat cradling me like a baby bird as it carried me across the country.
Another bag of sports mixture later, I arrived and the next day me and my friend Shelley set all our work up at Richmix on Bethnal Green Road, the location for the Showcase Cities exhibition that evening.

The venue was well presented and expertly lit; a great environment for both socialising and seeing the spoils of contemporary creatives. I enjoyed the buzzing atmosphere, enhanced by the musical offerings of Adrian Roye & The Exiles, and of course, the wine.

Despite the space being full for the entirety of the night, the only art I saw people taking home was priced fairly low (~£15) with the work on show actually ranging from £15 to £800; a big inconsistency that it felt strange to be placed within.
My favourite stuff there was by fellow illustrator Sam Blown, selling lots of quirky, good-natured prints that definitely cracked smiles across my face and the rest of the audience's. Good vibrations were found upon his boards in the midst of a very mixed bunch of artists, to be sure.

In order to adapt to the commercial emphasis of the venue I think exhibiting digital prints of my drawings would have been preferable to the originals, and I would recommend this to others intending to exhibit in this way as it allows for them to be sold for a more reasonable price without underselling what you have made and sacrificing artistic integrity. Despite not being there to sell work, I was happy with how I presented myself and used the opportunity to give out business cards to interested parties. And, again... the wine.