BEIRUT.- The 10th edition of
Beirut Art Fair, the international modern and contemporary art fair with a focus on the scenes of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region), will take place from 18 to 22 September 2019 in Beirut.
A space for artistic revelations, Beirut Art Fair celebrates its tenth anniversary this year and entrusts its artistic direction to Franco-Lebanese curator Joanna Abou Sleiman-Chevalier.
After a steady decade of growth, Beirut Art Fair has become a major event in the art fair calendar, attracting every year a growing number of visitors from around the world.
For its 10-year anniversary, Beirut Art Fair reaffirms its commitment to the discovery of the local and international contemporary scene and wishes to celebrate Lebanon and its sometimes little-known treasures by presenting exceptional and never-exhibited-before works from private collections.
A FAIR CENTERED ON CONTEMPORARY CREATION
Beirut Art Fair reaffirms its commitment to highlight the creations of emerging artists and to shed a new light on scenes sometimes overlooked by the public.
Thus, the brand-new PROJECT space gives selected galleries a young and dynamic platform to put the spotlight on their promising artists, endorsed by the fair’s selection committee.
AN ACTIVE AND ENGAGED FAIR
Beirut Art Fair places great emphasis on freedom of expression, the dialogue of cultures, and tolerance, which constitute its core values. For this 10th edition, the founder and director of the fair, Laure d’Hauteville, is committed to promoting openness to the world and innovation, notably through a renewal of the artistic program and by showcasing new trends.
FOCUS ON PARTICIPATING GALLERIES
The Fair commits to its role of international cultural incubator, in the perspective of discovering emerging artists and rediscovering historical ones. This first selection includes 50 distinguished Lebanese and international galleries, a diverse roster featuring thrilling emerging artists, as well as established ones with an international recognition throughout important museums and biennials. Representing 18 countries, the galleries reflect BEIRUT ART FAIR’s focus on rising local and international contemporary art, presenting to collectors cutting- edge painting, sculpture, installations, photography and new media.
While the MENA region continues to have a strong presence at BEIRUT ART FAIR, the fair also gives prominence to Europe and the United States, alongside a significant representation of African artists. It also naturally embraces leading Lebanese galleries with a significant artistic impact, and 15 of them, such as: Agial Art Gallery, Art on 56th, Banzy Gallery, CUB Gallery, Emmagoss, Galerie Cheriff Tabet, Galerie Janine Rubeiz with Rose Issa Projects (London), Galerie Tanit, Lebanese Talents, Letitia Gallery, M Square, Marfa’, Mark Hachem Gallery, South Border Gallery and WIP Gallery.
20 galleries from around the world have returned strongly, some of them marking their tenth participation. Beirut’s Agial Art Gallery is back with celebrated Lebanese painters Nabil Nahas, Mohammad El Rawas, and Nadia Safieddine, and Palestinian sculptor Abdulrahman Katanani. Paris’s In Situ - Fabienne Leclerc will feature Lebanon’s Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, as well as AmericanLebanese Daniele Genadry, whose work was recently acquired by the Jameel Arts Center in Dubai. Beirut’s CUB Gallery reiterates its commitment to supporting emerging artists in Lebanon, and Janine Rubeiz with Rose Issa Projects will exhibit Iranian multidisciplinary artist Farhad Ahrarnia. Reflecting BEIRUT ART FAIR’s dedication to the discovery of international art, Minsk’s A&V Art Gallery also returns, as well as Yerevan’s Aramé Art Gallery, and Beirut’s South Border Gallery, who puts the spotlight on the South American scene.
Alongside returning exhibitors, the fair welcomes 30 galleries for the first time, among them Galleria Continua, with a presence in Italy, France, Cuba and China, who will come to the fair with a special project: an Afro-cuban booth questioning our modern society and its development. Cuban artist Carlos Garaicoa will present his vision of twentieth-century modern architecture through installations, while emerging artist José Yaque will invite us into his ethereal landscapes, thereby spurring a dialogue with the immersive and political works of Egyptian Moataz Nasr (who represented Egypt at the 57th
Joanna Abou Sleiman-Chevalier, the fair’s artistic director, backed by the selection committee, will unveil the list of around fifty participating galleries from 18 countries, representing the vitality of the contemporary scene.
Venice Biennale) and Cameroonian Pascale Marthine Tayou, which draw from the artists’ heritage. Paris’s kamel mennour, who will feature world-renowned Franco-Algerian multidisciplinary artist and Marcel Duchamp prize nominee Neïl Beloufa, Polish-German visual artist Alicja Kwade, and American abstract painter and sculptor, SFMOMA prize winner Liam Everett. San Francisco’s Essa Muhammad will present works created especially for the fair by ascending MENA region artists such as Yemeni Nasser Al Aswadi, India-born and Kuwait- based Ghadah Alkandari, and Kuwaiti Alymamah Rashed. Milan’s Primo Marella Gallery will showcase Joël Andrianomearisoa, who represented Madagascar at this year’s Venice biennale, alongside celebrated Malian artist Abdoulaye Konaté, and Angolian Januario Jano. Likewise, Barcelona’s OOA - Out of Africa will put the spotlight on contemporary African Art. Meanwhile, Paris’s gb Agency will be honoring seminal Emirati artist Hassan Sharif (1951-2016), whose works now belong to major collections such as the Guggenheim’s and Doha’s Mathaf. Beirut’s Lebanese Talents associated with digital platform Banzy Gallery share a commitment to the vanguard with France’s L’Agence à Paris and Amman’s Karim Gallery.
