After seven successful years, Somerset House has taken the decision not to continue with its annual graphic arts festival, Pick Me Up.
As the UK’s first graphic arts festival, Pick Me Up showcased young talent, encouraged new collaborations and opened a window onto the world of graphic art, allowing new audiences to engage directly with artists and designers, purchase new work at affordable prices and learn new techniques through hands-on workshops.
Claire Catterall, Director of Exhibitions at Somerset House and original curator of Pick Me Up said:
“I am immensely proud of Pick Me Up’s seven-year run and how it became an established event in the graphic art scene’s cultural calendar. It is heartening to see how the public has become more and more engaged with illustration and graphic design, and so many wonderful festivals and events springing up around the UK since the first Pick Me Up in 2010. With a host of new champions for this community, we feel the time has come to focus on new projects which are equally energetic and exciting, and look forward to championing great work from new artistic communities through our public programme.
Although we say goodbye to Pick Me Up, we remain committed to providing a platform for the graphic arts through our diverse programme of exhibitions, talks and events. We will continue to work with many of the artists and designers who we supported through Pick Me Up over the years. We have an impressive group of alumni who have gone onto great things and we will certainly keep a keen eye on what they go on to achieve in the future!”
