For 2017, Moniker Art Fair has undergone an exciting evolution, tripling in size to accommodate 40 gallery stands, a young galleries initiative, a benefit auction, an industry conference, a curated film programme, a VIP programme and a New York style pizza restaurant.
While Moniker has previously venue-shared with The Other Art Fair, this October they moved to a new floor of the Old Truman Brewery as they boldly re-instate their dominance on the East End arts hub, focusing this year on the origins of urban art.

Few art forms rely on collectives and collaborations as much as urban art; born in the dust of the locomotive age as far back as 1914, it has evolved to see modern-day monikers spring up on walls worldwide, shifting in style and message as international artists meet and influence each other. Just over a century later, Moniker Art Fair remembers where it all began, taking visitors on a journey from the root of the burgeoning international street art scene and its importance today.

Moniker’s eighth edition titled ‘Transient Tales’ is dedicating more than 9,000-square-foot of space to immersive art installations. Upon entering visitors discover an installation by documentarian, photographer and film editor Bill Daniel featuring a train track and a tunnel.

Moniker welcomes the best of contemporary and urban art galleries from across the world, showcasing artists working beyond norms and conventions. The UK is represented by the likes of returning exhibitors Stolen Space, RISE, Jealous Gallery and Curious Duke Gallery as well as debuts from Well Hung Gallery and BleachBox Gallery. Meanwhile, international galleries debuting include Thinkspace Gallery from California, Station16 Gallery from Montreal and Gallery Itinerrance from France.

Few artists also painted murals in the surrounding streets of the Moniker Art Fair, like Dutch duo Telmo & Miel.

In parallel Moniker also gives the opportunity to showcase younger galleries like UK-Art from Japan, Jewel Goodby Contemporary and 1963 Gallery from the UK.

A special section has been dedicated to installations by Ian Kualii and large photographs by Alex Fakso to name a few.

In terms of results, Moniker reports record-breaking sales figures from its opening night, having sold around £300,000 of art on its preview day. The Californian Thinkspace Gallery, who had eight booths and three artist solo shows sold out two solo shows by artists Audrey Kawasaki and Kevin Peterson over £100,000 worth of sales in the first five hours.

The Art Conference, Talks & Short Film Programme featured films by Lek & Sowat, and talks by Vermibus.

View the full set of pics here

Next step will be New York, as Director Tina Ziegler announced earlier that Moniker New York will have its inaugural edition at the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse in Brooklyn from May 3 to 6 2018, to coincide with Frieze New York, and she hopes the art fair will continue to grow over the next five years.

Moniker Art Fair
5-8 October 2017
Truman Brewery London