Lured by the sea, the light, the eccentric and the eclectic, the iconic Vauxhall Art Car Boot Sale is coming to Turner Contemporary in Margate this August bank holiday weekend – Sunday 30th August – for one day only.

Former home to renowned artists Tracey Emin (pictured above at previous Art Car Boot Fair) and JMW Turner, Margate is both quintessential English seaside and vibrant town with a thriving arts and cultural scene with Turner Contemporary at its centre. It’s the perfect location for this exuberant art event where famous artists make special works just for the day and turn up in person to do business with the public directly. With a line-up including Tracey Emin, Gavin Turk, Rachel Howard, Vic Reeves and Sir Peter Blake, all the highlights from the flagship London event, and welcoming a new array of artists and performers handpicked from the fresh scene of local talent, the event will be an un-missable day out for art lovers, day trippers and bank holiday-makers alike.

Expect a fun, frivolity filled afternoon packed with serious art bargains, original works and special editions by leading artists at incredible prices plus classic Vauxhall motors with cool installations and a host of fun activities for visitors to get involved in and be entertained by including:

  • Exclusive free custom screen-printing at The Copy Shop

  • The Dog in Boot photo shoot in a vintage Vauxhall Viva

  • An exciting line-up of outlandish performances on the Cabaret Futura stage including a cool neo-punk girl band, fresh new stand-up and the fantastic Band of Holy Joy

  • Spontaneous promenade performances and happenings within the event including Poetry Roulette, five-minute portraits, the inky-selfie machine, Human Jukebox, sensational Sink the Pink drag acts, a knitted swimsuit fashion parade

  • A dog show along the seafront promenade with special prizes including Most Inspiring Hound – the judging panel will be made up of both dog and art experts

  • Vanera Camera Obscura – a whole ex-NATO camper van turned into a pin-hole camera, taking portraits on giant pieces of photographic paper – seaside snaps on a big scale!

The Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair gets an extra boost in Margate with an Arts Council of England grant. The funding will ensure even more up-and-coming artists and performers get the chance to take part in the event which curators

Karen Ashton and Helen Hayward conceived to re-introduce fun and frivolity into a thriving but increasingly commercial art scene.

Returning for a second time at the Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair and part of 2015’s dogs-in-art theme will be Art on a Postcard’s series of limited edition postcards especially commissioned and signed for the fair by a fantastic selection of artists including Rankin, Ray Richardson, Dougie Wallace, Hayden Kays, Cosmo Sarson, Robert James Clarke, Margot Bowman and Benjamin Murphy; these are truly one-of-a-kind pieces to add to any art collection. All proceeds from Art on a Postcard go to the Hepatitis C Trust.

If vintage cars are more up your street, Vauxhall Motors is dusting off its heritage collection and will be bringing along the PA Velox, Viva HA, Royale, Firenza and Ventora for artists to use for their pitches the event. Visitors are encouraged to bring their well behaved dogs on leads to take part in the dog show and the Dog in a Viva Boot Shoot.

The Vauxhall Art Car Boot Fair will be taking place on Sunday 30th August at Margate Turner Contemporary’s car park (CT9 1HG) between 12 - 4pm. Entry is £3.