ArtBAB set to make waves

ArtBAB, the region’s youngest and most promising art fair will open doors from 7 to 10 March 2019 at the Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre. The fair will be held under the patronage of HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Wife of His Majesty the King of Bahrain and President of the Supreme Council for Women.

The fair will see 16 international galleries from Buenos Aires, Paris, Antwerp, Greece, Bulgaria and many more showcase their works alongside local artists. This year there are 17 artist stands and a BAAB Pavilion of Bahraini contemporary art show tasking 30 artists.

Gallery view

Fairs & Programme Director Kaneka Subberwal said, “Through this exciting fair we are building our legacy for the future. By collaborating with such a wealth of artisanal design talents and bringing knowledge of artificial intelligence to the arts, we can welcome a host of fascinating artists and galleries to this exciting fourth edition of the fair. Bahrain continues to push boundaries in the arts and I hope these new initiatives demonstrate this.” TAG Fine Arts will present a specially curated contemporary cartographic display, featuring beautiful and highly creative maps of Bahrain and the surrounding area by seven international artists.

Ewan David Eason’s impressive Mappa Mundi Bahrain is inspired by his series of continents, countries and cities, and draws on his stunning use of gold leaf. Justine Smith integrates mapping and banknotes in her powerful Money Maps of the World series to explore the role of money in people’s lives and to illustrate key aspects of history and culture. Making an exciting return to ArtBAB this year is Bulgarian Art Agency Ltd with incredible artworks by Zurab Tsereteli, the renowned Georgian-Russian artist and architect.

Tsereteli, President of the Russian Academy of Arts, has been at the forefront of Georgian and Russian art for over forty years with works including the 1997 Moscow landmark statue Peter the Great, and the re-design of the outstanding Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on the Moscow River. A leading modern and contemporary art gallery from Paris, Galerie Bruno Massa will exhibit artworks by emerging German painter Ursula Schregel and Jordanian artist and photographer Wedad Alnasser, and striking blown glass sculptures by Rudolf Breda.

In addition, NK Gallery will travel from Antwerp to display works by acclaimed Belgian artist Didier Mahieu whose works in multiple mediums from painting to film earned him the 1993 Princess Grace International Prize in Contemporary Art. Core Art Gallery from Greece and Buenos Airesbased contemporary art gallery Quimera Galeria will contribute to the impressive international line up along with Art Lounge, which aims to spread the work of international artists throughout Portugal.

Cosmic Heart Gallery brings Natasha Lalla and Shailan Parker’s creative and abstract artistic creations from Mumbai. Participating from the Middle East is the Baghdad Art Gallery who can be seen alongside leading Dubai galleries Fann A Porter and Sconci Art Gallery. ArtBAB 2019 will also feature Zu_Cace, the innovative gallery from Zayed University’s College of Arts and Creative Enterprises.

Style quotient

The pioneering ‘Artisans Across Borders’ project that seeks to renew the ancient crafts of Bahrain will showcase finished collectables and a limited edition range of products in a design room. The products have been designed under the directorship of well-renowned Indian fashion design guru and luxury fashion icon, JJ Valaya assisted by Ameena Khan.

Many regional firsts

ArtBAB’s speaker’s programme will also launch a world premiere on Art & Islamic Finance, as a debate between Deloitte Art & Finance Luxembourg and Deloitte Islamic Finance and Knowledge Centre (IFKC) Bahrain. Other featured elements will include a VR tour of world-renowned art collections which is a regional first, predicting trends through blockchain, Game-changing VR and AI art in the art movement and a shared talk space for 40 cultural and tech leaders from 20 countries.