BOTTLE ALLEY ART MARKET

We have always had the idea of putting on an Art Market in Bottle Alley, the 480m long under prom walkway bridging Hastings and St.Leonards on Sea, is the perfect venue for such a spectacle, with a glorious view of the sea on the south side and revoluntionary panels on the north side featuring millions of pieces of repurposed and recycled glass from bottles of all shapes and sizes embedded in large concrete panels which line the walls giving the space its name. Our small team for the first ‘BAAM’ (Bottle Alley Art Market) in 2023 consisted of guest curater, Stella Dore Gallery owner and curator Steph Warren, who had recently featured in the BBC Radio 4 documentry – The Banksy Story, Operations Manager Gina Hewitt of Hell-Yeah who worked globally as the operations manager for The Other Art Fair who was assisted by, local artist and curator of the excellent Textile Junction exhibitions, Sophie Barnard aka Rugpuncher. We created the branding for the event and handled all aspects of design of the space and as well as the marketing campaign and artist liaison.

The day ran from 10am-6pm and featured DJ’s setting the tone at both entrances to the space. 8,000 people walked the 480m of alley over the 8 hour duration of the market. Over 800 artworks were sold by the 60 artists, selected from the 110 who applied to take part. The feedback has been overwhelming positive and there is an appetite for more to come.

After two further markets, in 2024 and 2025, the project has very quickly become part of Hastings cultural calender with over 180 artists applying to take part in the last event. You can see more photos, read about the events and sign up to the BAAM newsletter to get early bird info on BAAM plans and be first to find out when applications are open again for the next Bottle Alley Art Market, HERE.

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instagram.com/bottlealleyartmarket

ARTISTS FEEDBACK

“It was a brilliant experience and atmosphere, BAAM was great exposure for me as an unknown/new artist and has definitely been instrumental in getting my artworks seen by a wider audience which has in turn enabled me to become a working artist. So grateful to BAAM for this.”

“BAAM is a wonderful event and brings together artists, art lovers and buyers.”

“The organisation was excellent.”

“I feel it’s now recognised as an annual event and very much anticipated.”

“It was a massive boost both financially and in confidence for me after months of not selling any work. I thought the event was incredibly well organised and had a very positive vibe. It was also nice to support the nearby food sellers and a unique experience to gaze at the sea all day!”

“It was really great to see and connect with other artists and so many buyers! I really liked the introduction on instagram of each artist before the event.”

“It was really good, I hadn’t actually done an in person market for a good number of years, but BAAM really made me want to do more, it was such a nice experience.”

“Unique event with very high footfall”

“I think it’s the best I have been to. Because it was pure art.”

“Better as being in public space, customers not intimidated into entering ‘exhibition’ space,
also lots of people visiting from further afield”

“I thought it was very well organised, done in a kind way to artists, the zoom ahead of the event was helpful, not just to be prepared for the space, but to put faces to the names of the organisers. There was help when we were there. I loved the location especially as it was fine weather. The people were really friendly.”

“Unique! Incredible footfall all day long unlike other events. I thought there was a good mix of artists and quality artwork and everyone felt friendly rather than competitive.”