The Art Car Boot Fair returns to London this September, bringing 100 artists to Coal Drops Yard for a day of art, performance and the chance to pick up an original artwork for £100.
Taking place on Saturday 5th September 2026, this year’s edition adopts PLAY FREE as its theme, with Jim Moir AKA Vic Reeves, Rankin, Helen Beard, Mr Bingo, Margo in Margate and GG the Illustrator among the artists taking part.
The Art Car Boot Fair has always operated somewhere between an art fair, a car boot sale and a party. Artists sell work directly to visitors — traditionally from the boots of cars — creating an opportunity to meet them, haggle and potentially leave with something that would normally be encountered in rather more formal surroundings.
Previous editions have seen artists including Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Gavin Turk and Sir Peter Blake take part, while Vogue memorably described it as “the most stylish car boot sale imaginable.”
This year there’s an added incentive to arrive early: each of the 100 participating artists will create an artwork exclusively for the fair to be sold for £100, putting 100 specially created works into circulation at an unusually accessible price point.
Among those returning is Jim Moir (AKA Vic Reeves). Alongside his television career, Moir has developed an extensive visual art practice and will bring his paintings of birds to King’s Cross — works that
Guardian critic Jonathan Jones previously dubbed the
“Andy Warhol of bird painting.”
Photographer Rankin will take the idea of buying directly from an artist a step further by offering visitors the opportunity to have their own portrait taken by him. Over his career, Rankin has photographed figures including Jude Law, Vivienne Westwood, David Bowie, Kate Moss and the late Queen Elizabeth II.
You can book your RankinLIVE session HERE *
Making her Art Car Boot Fair debut is GG the Illustrator, whose ongoing mission is to paint every council estate in London. Her paintings, prints and watercolours document everyday life across the capital’s estates and have attracted fans including Central Cee and Unknown T.
Also joining the 2026 line-up are Helen Beard, known for her vividly coloured paintings exploring sexuality, intimacy and the body; artist and illustrator Mr Bingo; and this year’s special guest artist Margo in Margate.
The fair’s move into Coal Drops Yard gives its particular collision of contemporary art and car-boot culture a suitably public setting. Rather than booths, VIP rooms and hushed conversations with dealers, the emphasis remains on artists meeting audiences directly — and on making collecting feel considerably less intimidating.
For established collectors there’s the possibility of finding something unexpected; for everyone else, the 100 works at £100 offer a relatively painless opportunity to start.
Art Car Boot Fair 2026: PLAY FREE,
Saturday 5th September 2026, 12PM–6PM.
Coal Drops Yard
MORE: @art_car_boot_fair /
* Rankin is also doing a RankinLIVE in Paris on September 10th. Details HERE
