The Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair, a strange blend of high art, engineering, and tradesmanship, will take place this weekend in Liverpool, according to the Liverpool Echo. Billed as “the UK’s most anarchic and exciting art fair,” it features artworks built in and sold out of the trunks (or “boots,” if you’re a Brit) of new and vintage Vauxhall cars.
Originally staged in London, the raucous fair has appropriately taken to the road, and plans to also stop in Folkestone later this summer. Founder Karen Ashton told the Echo, “Having established the [fair] as a dynamic and thrilling art marketplace as well as a thoroughly entertaining afternoon for all our art loving visitors in London, it made perfect sense to take our show on the road to engage with new audiences and new artists around the country.”
Artists taking part include Gavin Turk, Sir Peter Blake, Julia Vogl, Scrawl Collective, and several Liverpool-based artists. Turk will be creating a special edition for the day, as well as bringing his Canvas Car (which is exactly what it sounds like). Despite a smattering of big names, it’s easy to find works for between £10 to £1,000. Additionally, there are plenty of participatory projects, for which visitors are encouraged to do things like throw buckets of paint on cars.
The festival has developed a reputation for eccentricity and quirk, and the London edition boasted several celebrity visitors, including fashion designer Lulu Guinness, singer Florence Welch, and actress Patsy Palmer. If you’re lucky enough to be in the Liverpool area, we’d suggest giving it a go—after all, how often do you get to throw paint on a car?