在现在的经济环境内，对于艺术爱好者，幸好还有‘买得起艺术节’。
在过去这十年，中国的艺术市场变得越来越壮大。对于一小数量的艺术家来说，这当然是一件好事： 他们艺术品的价钱大大上升。 但是，北京的艺术爱好者就没有这么好运了。尤其是在哪个经济环境内，市场内大部分的艺术品也得不到手。不过，一年一度的‘买得起艺术节’会在五月份举行。这个艺术买卖会会给北京的艺术爱好者一个特别好的机会去购买一些画，雕塑和照片。
“我们举办‘买得起艺术节’的最大原因是为了给艺术爱好者一个好机会去寻找他们喜欢的独一无二的艺术品，”活动的组织者Tom Pattinson说，“对于想要开始收藏艺术作品或者增加自己藏品数量的人来说，这是一次绝佳的购买机会。”他说，“这一活动就是为了让所有的普通人也能买得起艺术作品，能把艺术品挂到他们家中的墙上或者永久的收藏。”
这个活动是在2006年创办的。当时，创办人Tom Pattinson与红T画廊的Tamsin Roberts发现一般的艺术爱好者觉得买中国现代艺术品变得越来越困难。‘买得起艺术节’所创办的那一年，活动非常成功。此外由创办到现在，这个活动的规模一年比一年大。
“买得起艺术节”的策划人Tamsin Roberts用了半年的时间，以合理的价格从全中国的各个地方网罗到了最好的艺术家。这些艺术家中，很多人已经在艺术界享有声望，而更多的人是初次展出自己的作品。“我们一直在寻找我们所定价格内最优秀的艺术作品，并且我们欣慰的看到，参与我们展出的艺术家越来越成功。”
“许多在2006年和2007年卖出的艺术作品当时的价格是几千元人民币，而现在已经升到了几千美元。比如尹坤，姚俊忠和纪晓峰这三位参与过往年活动的艺术家，如今已经获得了极大的成功”。Roberts说。
“当然，‘买得起艺术节’的理念是倡导艺术的回归，”Pattinson说，“艺术应该是一件让人欣赏的美的事物，而不是仅仅只是一项经济上的投资。”他说。 “买得起艺术节”已经成为广大北京人不容错过的艺术之旅。“我已经连续两年参与这个活动了，而且已经买了三幅画，”一位艺术爱好者王洋说，“每当有人去我家的时候，他们都会问我是哪里买到这些画的，他们都很欣赏我的高雅。”
随着全球经济的衰退，越来越多的人更加关注自己的花销。“买得起艺术节-北京”是让顾客买到优秀的艺术品的一个绝佳的方式，同时这里的价格只是别家的几分之一。“我们没有画廊的成本支出，几乎所有的销售收入都直接由艺术家获得。我们这里没有中间商抬高价格。”Pattinson说，“因此，在这里你能以最低的价格买到最好的艺术品。”
由于买得起艺术节的规模越来越大，今年的活动地点将改为三里屯Village里举行。买得起艺术节会在５月最后一个周末举行。
2009年的‘买得起艺术节’将会在5月30到31日早上11点到晚上8点在三里屯Village的橙色大厅里举行。
The last decade has seen the Chinese art market grow from strength to strength. Great news for a select few artists but it has made buying works of art for Beijing’s art lovers harder and harder as prices have risen through the roof. However the annual Affordable Art Beijing event is back this May bringing art to the people and allowing all of us the chance to take home a painting, sculpture or photograph.
“Affordable Art Beijing is all about letting people who like and appreciate art take home a unique work of art,” says Tom Pattinson, organizer of the event. “It’s perfect for people who want to start a collection or add to an already existing one,” he says. “It is about letting people, like you and me, be able to afford a work of art to hang on their walls and keep forever”.
The event was started four years ago in 2006 after Pattinson and his partner Tamsin Roberts of Red T Art decided it was becoming impossible for normal people to buy Chinese contemporary art. The event was a massive success and has grown every year since.
Tamsin Roberts, the curator of AAB spends half the year traveling around China to find the best artists at the most affordable prices. Some of them are established artists but many are exhibiting for the first time. “We look for the best quality works available for our price range and we often find that the artists we exhibit go on to great things,” explains Roberts.
“There have been a number of artists who exhibited in 2006 and 2007 and sold works for a few thousand RMB who are now regularly selling for thousands of US Dollars. For example Yin Kun, Yao Junzhong and Ji Xiaofeng who exhibited with AAB, have all gone on to become very successful artists,” says Roberts.
“However the idea of the AAB is to bring art back to basics,” says Pattinson. “Art should be an aesthetic, something to look at and appreciate, not something that is just a financial investment,” he says. And for many Beijing residents the AAB has been a wonderful addition to the art calendar.
“I’ve been for the last two years and bought a total of three paintings,” says art lover Wang Yang. “Every time I have people round to my house they ask me where I got my art. They all think I am very cultured,” she laughs.
As the global economic down turn has seen many of us watching our spending the AAB is the perfect way to find excellent art for just a fraction of the price found elsewhere. “We don’t have gallery costs and nearly all the money goes directly back to the artist himself meaning there are no middle men to increase prices,” says Pattinson. “Therefore you can get the best works for the lowest prices.”
As the popularity of the event has grown the AAB has moved downtown to the new Village at Sanlitun this year where the event will go on over the last weekend of May.
Affordable Art Beijing 09 will be held at the Orange at Sanlitun Village from Saturday 30th May to Sunday 31st May from 11am-8pm daily.
【编辑：大崔】
