Wednesday, 02 Jun 2010
“The pragmatic advice we have had and practical help from UKTI has been very helpful.”
David Bent
Deep Spirit by David Bent
Aviation artist sales take off in Abu Dhabi and Dubai
Swindon artist David Bent’s specialist aviation artwork is adorning wallspace in all four corners of the world following a fantastic international expansion over the last decade.
David’s work is now held in private collections around the world, including in the Middle East, America & Australia – with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) providing a great help along the way.
Over the last few years David has undertaken a number of high profile exhibitions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, including invitations to exhibit in the Royal tent at the Al Ain Airshow & at the Dubai International Airshow.
It is a far cry from David’s first venture into air shows when he bought himself a small tent and set up a temporary gallery on the cheapest pitch on the outskirts of the Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in 2001. David had an amazing and immediate response and sold a number of pieces of his work. Because many of the people who bought the artworks were international pilots it meant that David’s work was seen almost instantly overseas.
The following year David repeated the exercise – with a slightly bigger tent – and once again , had an extraordinary response to his groundbreaking work. His work also caught the eye of the Director General of the Society of British Aerospace Companies, who asked David to provide all of the artwork for the organisation’s new premises in the South Bank.
“Having my work on display at Fairford has been very good & led to some high profile enquiries,” said David. “In fact it was during my exhibition at Fairford that I met a representative of the Abu Dhabi Tourist Authority who saw my work and invited me to hold a solo exhibition in the Royal tent at the Al Ain Airshow.”
During the nerve-racking exhibition at which David was rubbing shoulders with high profile sheikhs and members of the royal family, David and his partner Carole were able to make important contacts, such as the President of the UAE Aviation Association, who would become a long term supporter of David’s work and help to build further relationships in the Emirates.
At this point David and Carole realised that business could really take off in the region and they felt they needed a helping hand to maximise the opportunities there. They arranged a meeting with UKTI’s Stuart Thomas to find out about how they could develop a more focussed strategy.
Stuart recommended that David and Carole signed up to UKTI’s Passport to Export programme, which is specifically designed to help new and fledgling exporters and since then they have both undergone training in overseas trade, from a general introduction to specific help with developing relationships with agents, marketing and market research. Through Passport to Export the couple have also had match funding to attend further major air shows in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
In fact they have just returned from a visit to Al Ain and Dubai where they have received a further two invitations to exhibit David’s work in 2011.
“The pragmatic advice we have had and practical help from UKTI has been very helpful,” said David. “Stuart has been a really great mentor and has helped us with advice along the way. We are always in touch with him whenever there are any developments, such as meeting with him to go over aspects of our visit to Abu Dhabi.
“The match funding has been very important too,” said David “It has been really important to us to get out into the market and we’re realising that the way forward is to get out there and meet people. Any support we have in helping us do that is great.”
Stuart Thomas, UKTI International Trade Adviser, said:
“David and Carole make a great team. David's work is very striking and thoughtful at the same time, and I am not surprised that he is now reaching the heights he deserves.
The company recognised the importance of meeting potential customers face to face to help develop their business relationship and this is where the UKTI funding to attend exhibitions and meetings overseas has really made a difference.”
UK Exhibitions in 2010 include Kemble VIP in June & RIAT,Fairford VIP in July.
David’s studio and gallery is based in Old Town,Swindon. Visitors are welcome by appointment. To arrange to visit and to see David’s artworks, please call 07798 787450 or go to www.bentartgallery.co.uk.
Contacts
If you are based in the South West region and are interested in developing your business overseas please contact:
South West International Trade Team:
Tel: +44 (0)845 60 60 969
Email: enquiries@uktisouthwest.org