Laure d’Hauteville, MENASART Fair Manager, said that the revolutions and Arabs Spring wave has left its mark on Contemporary Art in Arab World by boosting it to become more noticeable worldwide.

Speaking at MENASART Fair 2011 press conference in Beirut, d’Hauteville assured that “MENASART is the first specialized art fair to support Art and artists in the region and embrace the growth in Art which is a means of human communication & a reflection of how people are effected with their surrounding”.

d’Hauteville announced that said that Saudi Arabia will be the Guest of honor in MENASART 2011 Edition One, with hosting (NABAT.. A sense of being) featuring art by 15 contemporary Saudi artists, including new pieces that have not been seen previously.

On his side; MENASART Art Director Marc Odille said that the standards of choosing galleries participated in MENASART 2011 is based on their professional work, diversity & variety works, unique artworks, and the success their exhibitions achieved in the host country.

Odille explained that there are 6 sections in MENASART along with (NABAT). The Great Collectors in Lebanon Section; where 12 lebanese art collectors express passion to collect modern art presenting to visitors 80 art works of some important Lebanese artists such as; Shafic Abboud, Yvette Achkar, Ayman Baalbaki and many more.

The second section is Monumental Sculpture & Installation; where 4 artists take back objects from our consumer society and turn them into relics & powerful symbols, using various materials like scraps, pieces of furniture, wood and iron, to tackle  the ecological problem.

Anita Toutikian (Damnesia) at Monumental Sculpture Section

3rd Section is Video Box; which offers the opportunity to discover uncommon plastic creations in the region. addressing social, political and economic issues in humor and sometimes in a dramatic realistic sense. One of the contradicting videos is “Revolution: Liberty, Social Equality, Unity” by Khaled Hafez, an Egyptian movie done in 2006 that predicted the 2011 January Revolution in Egypt!

MENASART 2011 will also include Kids section; where on July 15 & 16 Nadine Mokbel will sign her new book (Lebanon’s Got Talet) that aims to introduce children to the art world & different typs of lebanese paintings showing him how to appreciate art & become familiar with modern art & artists.

Odille also noted that on the sideline of MENASART Fair, there will be12  workshops, seminars, and educational programs to discuss the development of contemporary art in south Asia and challenges facing upcoming Arab artists.

Cheers