7000 visitors at the inauguration of the 7th edition of BEIRUT ART FAIR
Under the patronage and in the presence of H.E Minister of Culture Raymond Araygi and H.E Minister of Tourism Michel Pharaon, the inauguration of the 7th edition of BEIRUT ART FAIR was held at BIEL.
It was held as well in the presence of Laure d’Hauteville, founder and fair director, Pascal Odille, artistic director, Marine Bougaran, director of Exhibitors Relations and of the “Projects” space, as well as officials, ambassadors, representatives of partners, sponsors, galleries, artists, and the media.
During the opening ceremony, H.E Mr. Raymond Araygi stated: “BEIRUT ART FAIR is a key event on the Lebanese cultural and artistic agenda. The organization of its 7th edition in a row shows that Beirut continues to attract international galleries and artists.” He added: “This year, the fair includes a special exhibition for Lebanese women artists, and I thank the organizers for shedding the light on this era of our artistic history. It is also the first time that the ministry of Culture lends paintings from its collection, and it is an act of appreciation from the ministry to the organizers of BEIRUT ART FAIR and hence this cultural and artistic event."
H.E Michel Pharaon confirmed that BEIRUT ART FAIR has become an important milestone on the Lebanese cultural scene, as well as in the Middle East and the world, largely due to the technical and artistic skills that Lebanese artists master. He also added: "Through this fair, the artists contribute to improving the country’s image and they also represent the creative energy in the region."
More than 7000 visitors attended the first day to discover 45 galleries from 20 countries offering more than 1,500 artworks by 300 artists.
According to Laure d’Hauteville: “BEIRUT ART FAIR has become an international artistic event that attracts an ever greater number of visitors to Lebanon: professionals and art lovers from the region and from around the world. At the same time, it remains a friendly and welcoming event that puts exchange and proximity at the heart of its activity.”
For its 7th edition, BEIRUT ART FAIR presented a renewed program: the exhibition LEBANON MODERN!, with the support of Bankmed, main partner of the fair, which honors Lebanese women artists from the modernist period 1945 - 1975, a new space REVEALING BY SGBL, dedicated to the discovery of the most promising young talents from the ME.NA.SA. region. Byblos Bank celebrated as well the fifth year of the Byblos Bank Award for photography.
Participating Art Galleries
392rmeil393 (Lebanon), A&V Art Gallery (Belarus), A2Z Art Gallery (France), Agial Art Gallery/Saleh Barakat Gallery (Lebanon), Aïda Cherfan (Lebanon), Albareh Art Gallery (Bahrain), Albert Baronian (Belgium), Art on 56th (Lebanon), Artlab (Lebanon), Artspace Hamra (Lebanon), ASH (Lebanon), Galerie baudoin lebon (France), Bel Air Fine Art (France/Italy/Switzerland/Middle East), Dar Al-Anda Art Gallery (Jordan), Elie Saab (Lebanon), Emmagoss Art Galerie (Lebanon), Endjavi Barbe Art Projects (Switzerland), Espace Jacques Ouaiss (Lebanon), Fadi Mogabgab Art Contemporain (Lebanon), Galeries Francoise Livinec (France), Galerie Janine Rubeiz (Lebanon), Galerie Les Ateliers Sauvages (Algeria), Galerie Nikki Diana Marquardt (France), Galerie Tanit (Lebanon/Germany), Galleria Pack (Italy), Gallery One (Palestine), Gowen Contemporary (Switzerland), Hamazkayin Lucy Tutunjian Art Gallery (Lebanon), ifa Gallery (Belgium), In Toto Gallery (South Africa), island6 (China), Johanna Suo Project (Belgium), LA Art Gallery (Argentina), La Baignoire Experience (Algeria), LAS (Lebanon), Macam (Lebanon), Mark Hachem Gallery (Lebanon/France/USA), Mashrabia Gallery (Egypt), Silk Road Gallery (Iran), South Border (Lebanon), Sud Gallery (France), Vincenz Sala Paris|Berlin (France/Germany), Wadi Finan Art Gallery (Jordan), Xol Art Gallery (United States), Zaarura Edition (Lebanon).
LEBANON MODERN!
For the first time, BEIRUT ART FAIR honors Lebanese women artists from the modernist period (1945 – 1975).
Through a selection of works originating from private collections and for the first time from the collection of the Ministry of Culture, the exhibition LEBANON MODERN! showcased the strength and creative energy of women artists who were often unknown to the general public.
The exhibited artists are: Bibi Zogbé (1890-1973), Marie Hadad (1895-1973), Blanche Lohéac Ammoun (1912-2011), Saloua Raouda Choucair (1916), Helen Khal (1923-2009), Etel Adnan (1925), Cici Sursock (1926-2015), Yvette Achkar (1928), Huguette Caland (1931), Laure Ghorayeb (1931), Juliana Séraphim (1934-2005), Nadia Saikali (1936) and Seta Manoukian (1945).
REVEALING by SGBL
The fair’s new section REVEALING by SGBL highlighted on the best young talents from the ME.NA.SA. region. REVEALING by SBGL gave each selected gallery the chance to present an especially promising artist, offering the possibility to build privileged contacts with the various publics present at the fair.
REVEALING by SGBL welcomed 27 galleries from 13 countries, including Algeria and Palestine, each represented at the fair for the first time.
The participating galleries are the following: In Toto Gallery (South Africa), Galerie Les Ateliers Sauvages (Algeria), La Baignoire Experience (Algeria), Albareh Art Gallery (Bahrain), ifa Gallery (Belgium), Johanna Suo Project (Belgium), Mashrabia Gallery (Egypt), A2Z Art Gallery (France), Galeries Françoise Livinec (France), Galerie Nikki Diana Marquardt (France), Vincenz Sala Paris|Berlin (France), Galerie baudoin Lebon (France), Silk Road Gallery (Iran), Wadi Finan Art Gallery (Jordan), Dar Al-Anda Art Gallery (Jordan), Agial Art Gallery/Saleh Barakat Gallery (Lebanon), 392rmeil393 (Lebanon), Artlab (Lebanon), Artspace Hamra (Lebanon), Galerie Janine Rubeiz (Lebanon), Mark Hachem Gallery (Lebanon), South Border (Lebanon), Zaarura Edition (Lebanon), ASH (Lebanon), Gallery One (Palestine), Gowen Contemporary (Switzerland), Endjavi Barbe Art Projects (Switzerland).
5 YEARS OF THE BYBLOS BANK AWARD
Byblos Bank celebrates five successful years of Byblos Bank Award for photography, which aims to support a booming art form while offering young Lebanese photographers privileged access to the main players in the market.
For this occasion, Byblos Bank and BEIRUT ART FAIR invited Algerian-French photographer »Halida Boughriet« to work with five young photographers selected from the finalists of previous editions of the fair. Together they produced a joint work that was presented to the public in a dedicated space at the fair.
BEIRUT ART FAIR hosts for its 7th edition the Selections magazine VIP Lounge where fairgoers, collectors, journalists, artists and gallerists can gather to interact and to dialogue.
And for the first time, MACAM - the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum – participated in BEIRUT ART FAIR 2016 with a collection of sculptures by Lebanese artists and with a selection of art books.
ABOUT BEIRUT ART FAIR
BEIRUT ART FAIR was created in 2010 and is directed by Laure d’Hauteville, an exhibition curator and former journalist.
BEIRUT ART FAIR’s Artistic Director is Pascal Odille, an expert in modern and contemporary art (member C.N.E.S.). Marine Bougaran directs the fair’s "Projects" space.
Dynamic and open to the world, the resurgent Lebanese capital is the perfect setting for this unique and original fair that privileges discovery, proximity and exchanges among diverse actors.