Kempton markets usually fall on the second and last Tuesday of every month, but restrictions related to Covid-19 mean that temporary alterations have been made.
It kicks off on July 7, followed by July 21 and 28. The adjusted schedule continues in August (fairs are on August 4 and 25) before dates are expected to return to ‘normal’ in September.
Currently the plan is to operate Kempton as an outdoor-only event but the organisers added, “with the current situation being so fluid it is possible that nearer the time we may be able to adapt to include some indoor areas, if permitted to do so”.
The return of a favourite market in the London area is one of the first green shoots on the calendar for physical fairs after three barren months.
Reopening was announced following consultations with The Jockey Club. The market will publish Covid guidelines closer to the reopening date. Its next event at Sandown Park Racecourse is expected to take place on July 19.
Also getting back to business later this month are Arthur Swallow Antique & Home Shows and International Antiques & Collectors Fairs (IACF).
Swallow has a one-day, fully outdoor Antiques & Salvage Market at Cheshire Showground near Knutsford on June 27.
The next IACF event is the Runway Monday at Newark show on June 29.
French Renaissance
Events are also returning to the calendar in France.
Parcours des Mondes, the tribal art event in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés quarter of Paris, confirmed last week that it intends to go ahead from September 8-13 (subject to permission for the event being granted by the authorities). It is currently expecting 51 participants.
The Foire de Chatou antiques and brocantes fair held near Paris is planning to go ahead from September 25-October 4.
The long-running event organised by the dealer association SNCAO-GA opened for its 100th edition on March 13 but had to close on the same day.
Looking ahead
Indoor fairs at single venues will have longer to wait, although organisers are already preparing.
The summer staging of the Art & Antiques Fair Olympia was cancelled (it would have opened last week). However, organiser Clarion Events confirmed that a booking is still in place for the winter edition from November 3-8.
Other events still scheduled to go ahead subject to government guidance in the autumn include Penman Fair’s Petersfield event in early September; The British Art Fair; the autumn edition of The Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair in Battersea; Frieze and Frieze Masters in Regent’s Park; PAD London in Berkeley Square; and the November staging of Art & Antiques for Everyone at the NEC, which is also running an online showcase starting in July.
