This year, from September 20th to 22nd, Menart Fair is presenting a program entirely dedicated to women artists from the MENA region.
Founded in 2021 by Laure d’Hauteville, Menart Fair is an international and contemporary art fair dedicated to highlighting artists from the Levant, the Arabian Gulf, and North Africa through a rigorous selection of leading galleries.
This year at 5 rue Saint Merri in Paris 4th, from September 20th to 22nd, Menart Fair is dedicating its 5th edition entirely to women artists from the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa). Showcasing around a hundred artists selected by Essia Hamdi, Stefania Angarano, Kalim Bechara and Leila Varasteh, this 5th edition has as its goal raising the visibility of Oriental women’s art and a faithful reflection of the dynamism of the MENA region.
In a global art market predominantly dominated by male artists, Arab women artists represent only 1.5% of artists exhibited in international galleries [Study conducted in 2023 by the Art Basel Association]. “Women artists have always played an important role in our events. Remarkable for their talent, determination and commitment, they have always been confronted with under representation. It is to highlight the quality of their work, their strength of conviction and their involvement in crucial issues that we are dedicating our 2024 Menart Fair in Paris to them.” says Laure d’Hauteville, Founder & director of Menart Fair, and she specifies “The Arab world abounds in a rich artistic heritage in which women have always played a crucial role, though often unrecognized.”
Although the MENA region is vast and varied, women artists from the Arab world face gender stereotypes and cultural norms which hinder their access to the resources needed to develop their career. As a pioneer in raising the visibility of these artists, Menart Fair wants to highlight that before being “women”, they are artists, distinguished by their values, visions and their Oriental heritage. Their motifs, themes as well as techniques refer to their ancient artistic traditions, such as ink painting and the use of natural pigments on silk. Their works also address contemporary matters specific to the Arab world, testifying their engagement in denouncing issues such as gender inequality, corruption and armed conflicts.
The role of market actors is fundamental for artists’ voices to be heard. “In order to develop their reputation [...] artists need to be exhibited in major cities and take part in major international exhibitions” says Laure d’Hauteville. In hosting 29 galleries from 12 countries in the MENA region, Menart Fair aims at encouraging artistic discovery characterized by high quality and an international reach. Among these galleries, Wusum Gallery in Doha has selected four Qatari artists to highlight the diversity of women’s voices through a cross-generational exhibition. Themes of resilience, identity and memory are explored by Moroccan gallery Comptoirs des Mines, while Dubai’s Firetti Contemporary is presenting “Memories are Home”, an exhibition which walks through past and present, personal and collective stories highlighting human creativity. The dissolution of boundaries between temporal and geographical events will also be explored by the installation “Reflection Colorshot” by Swiss-Lebanese artist Sara Badr Schmidt from Agial Art Gallery in Beirut.
The dialogue between women’s artistic vision and current realities, at the core of Menart Fair, emerges in the selection of artists from Palestine, Kuwait, Lebanon and Jordan chosen by the Contemporary Art Platform (CAP) from Kuwait. The deep hold that roots and heritage have in an artist’s relationship with the world and their artistic sensibility comes to light in the photographic works by Iranian visual artist and performer Morvarid K, presented by the Parisian gallery Bigaignon.Menart fair is also hosting Picasso Art Gallery, one of Egypt’s oldest and most prestigious gallerie. Picasso Art will show to the public the rich panorama of modern Egyptian art. Alongside renowned artists, this 5th edition is presenting the new sector REVEALING dedicated to emerging talents and partly supported by the Menart Friends Association.
At Menart Fair the public will be able to explore both artistic creation as well as the rediscovery of antique artworks. Art historian Dr. Zahra Faridany-Akhavan will be presenting The Shâhnâmè of Shah Tahmasp, reconstructed in its integrity after being dismembered and scattered across the globe. As one of the finest illuminated manuscripts of the world, The Shâhnâmè of Shah Tahmasp represents the apogee of the Safavid dynasty, which ruled Persia in the 16th and 17th century.
Visitors will also have the opportunity to attend enriching talks related to women in the art world, gender parity and the development of MENA Art in Europe.
Cover Picture: Morvarid K, The Hours, 2023, white acrylic paint on photograph mounted on dibond