Covid emergency: Roy’s art fair cancelled at Brick Lane’s Old Truman brewery over lockdown ban

The largest free arts fair anywhere in the British Isles due to open in east London aftter being postponed during lockdown has now had to be cancelled because of the emergency.

It was due to open in Brick Lane at the old Truman brewery boiler house on October 8, running for four days, where 80 artists would have kickstarted the cultural sector’s recovery after six-months of public exhibition bans.

Roy’s famous art fair had already been postponed from April due to the pandemic emergency.

Now organisers have been forced to throw in the towel over new government restrictions banning gatherings of more than six because of the Covid second wave.

“We are incredibly sorry to have come to this conclusion for the second time this year,” Roy’s arts fair said in a statement to the East London Advertiser.

“It is with a heavy heart and great regret that our event scheduled for October 8-11 won’t be taking place due to further restrictions imposed this week.

“Our ambition was to be the kickstarter for the cultural and events industry during this time.”

It is a bitter disappointment to the arts fair which was planning to “reach new heights” at its new location in the boiler house with its iconic 150ft Truman chimney that towers over the Spitalfields skyline.

The sixth annual fair was to be a platform for upcoming and established artists vying for space to show their new works, after international events had been cancelled due to travel restrictions. Now even London is scrubbed from the arts pallet for the time being as Britain lurches towards a second lockdown.

But organisers aren’t done yet. They have launched Roy’s Gallery online where art lovers can view and buy works from artists who would have been exhibiting.

Organisers have a public event scheduled at the Bargehouse centre on the Southbank, by Blackfriars Bridge, next March. Details will be given nearer the time.