It wasn’t easy to select Top Destination for March because I keep finding out events that can not be missed! So I decided the theme of March is BIG; only extravaganza shows made it this month… By extravaganza I mean The Armory Show in New York, Arabian Wings Auction in Jeddah, The Art Week in Dubai and Arab Programs in FotoFest, Texas! Ready?
Destination One: The Armory Show, New York
Flight Dates: March 5 – 9. 2014
The Armory Show, a leading international contemporary and modern art fair and one of the most important annual art events in New York, takes place March 6 – 9, 2014 on Piers 92 & 94 in central Manhattan. The Armory Show is devoted to showcasing the most important artworks of the 20th and 21st centuries. In its 15 years the fair has become an international institution, combining a selection of the world’s leading galleries with an exceptional program of arts events and exhibitions throughout New York during the celebrated Armory Arts Week. With an international and acclaimed participants in The Armory Show, the space is divided into 5 sections:
Highlights! Mark your NYC Calendar for The Armory Party at MoMA on Wednesday, March 5, 2014.
The Museum of Modern Art will host The Armory Party, a benefit event with live music and DJs celebrating the opening of The Armory Show and Armory Arts Week on Wednesday, March 5, 2014.
The 2014 Armory Party runs from 9:00 p.m. to midnight, and features a VIP Hour from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. The VIP Hour includes access to MoMA’s Robert Heinecken: Object Matter exhibition in addition to The Armory Party at 9:00 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased here.
ARMORY ARTS WEEK 2014 PUBLIC PROGRAMMING
Tuesday, March 4, 2014: Uptown & Museum Mile
Wednesday, March 5, 2014: MoMA Party
Thursday, March 6: Bronx & Soho
Friday, March 7: Long Island City
Saturday, March 8: Brooklyn & Chelsea
Sunday, March 9: Lower East Side
For more information about The Armory Show, click here.
Destination Two: Arabian Wings Auction, Jeddah
Flight Dates: March 10, 2014
Arabian Wings, specialized organization in the field of visual arts providing various art services for different segments on the basis of investment or community service, invites you to attend the particular auction of Contemporary Art Preview starts from March 5th to 9th daily from 10am to 10pm followed by the bidding session on artworks on Monday, March 10th at 7 pm The Gallery Hall at Al Furusya Yacht Club Jeddah.
Why Arabian Wings Auction? Honestly, I was shocked with the body of modern and contemporary works will be auctioned during the event by both acclaimed & emerging artists across the Middle East that are fresh, bold, diverse, controversial and innovative. Mostly by young Saudi artists, Arabian Wings Auction is another benchmark in Saudi that visualizes the exploding art scene, quantity and quality of creativity there. To view auction catalogue, click here.
Arabian Wings was founded in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2006, it has strived to achieve its strategies and goals in the field of visual arts. The name was chosen to clearly show the company’s mission statement and efforts to expand in the Middle East and push the outreach of Arab artists to a regional and international scale.
Destination Three: Dubai Art Week
Flight Dates: March 14 – 25, 2014.
It is well known now that Dubai is the place to be in March if you are an artist, creative writer, architect, designer, curator, collector and art lover – or all! The city’s strong moving art scene, embracing local international movements and expanding circle of activities in flavor for both art communities and the entire society. Dubai Art Week is part of ‘Dubai Art Season,’ as the city’s umbrella arts initiatives from 14 March to 15 April, 2014. The season aims to highlight the Emirate’s growing creative landscape within the international circuit.
Dubai Art Week kicks off with SIKKA Art Fair, the first annual initiative to support and showcase Emirati and Dubai-based artistic talent, on the 14th then the 17th marks trio happenings with: Design Days Dubai, a dedicated fair in the Middle East and South Asia to collectible and limited edition furniture and design objects, Al Serkal Galleries Night & DIFC Art Night a fresh and delightful night announcing season’s best shows. And finally Dubai Art Week is concluded with the most anticipated MENASA art fair on the 19th, Art Dubai.
But Dubai is not the only city in UAE that is celebrating art and culture! Sharjah Art Foundation will host the annual discussion platform March Meeting 2014 that examines several pertinent issues in contemporary culture, addressing institutional formation, exhibitions, and artistic production (13 – 16 March). For Programming schedule click here. Moreover, Sharjah Art Foundation will also showcase two film screenings (From Gulf to Gulf to Gulf) on the 14th & (Revisiting Tarab) on the 16th, and exhibition openings as below:
March 13, 2014:
Susan Hefuna titled “Another Place”
Rasheed Araeen “Before and After Minimalism ”
Wael Shawky “Horsemen Adores Perfume and Other Stories”
March 16, 2014:
March Project.
For further details on SAF events and activities in March click here.
Whereas the capital, is hosting Abu Dhabi Festival 2014, a programme of world-class and innovative artistic talent, from March 2nd – 31st with performances by Asil Ensemble, Bill Fontana, multiple-Grammy Award winner Herbie Hancock, Renée Fleming & the Dresden Philharmonic, Michel Fadel and more! Full timetable is a click away.
We are done with UAE but not with Top Destination… Told you it was not easy!
Final Destination: FotoFest Arab Program in Texas
Flight Dates: March 15 – April 27, 2014.
With more than a 100 exhibitions and events, FotoFest launches its fifteenth consecutive Biennial of Photography and Photo-related Art March 15 – April 27, 2014 in Houston, Texas.
The centerpiece of the 2014 Biennial is four newly created exhibitions on Arab Video, Photography, and Mixed Media Art – VIEW FROM INSIDE – presenting a broad and diverse vision of Arab art, society and politics.
The exhibitions present works from 50 leading Arab artists from the Middle East and North Africa – a generation of artists who turned from traditional forms of visual art in the late 1990s to begin experimenting with video, photography and mixed media. Their works coincided with the widespread presence of satellite television, new forms of film, the Internet and social media over the past 15 years. The effect of these combined technologies, with more immediate access to people and ideas around the world, has had a profound impact on Arab art.
FotoFest’s Arab exhibits are accompanied by six weeks of Arab programs, including artist roundtables, forums, academic symposia, Arab films, musical concerts, poetry readings, informal discussions between artists and curators, and programs on Arab culture for schools. FotoFest is partnering with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH); the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy and the Humanities Research Center at Rice University; and the Arab-American Cultural and Community Center of Houston on a number of these programs.
VIEW FROM INSIDE features Arab artists from 14 countries and promises to be the largest presentation of contemporary Arab photography and mixed media art presented in the United States in many years. Over the past five years, FotoFest Senior Curator Wendy Watriss has been looking at the work of Arab artists with Karin Adrian von Roques, a German curator with over 20 years experience working in the Middle East and North Africa. An expert in classical Islamic and contemporary Arab art, Ms. Von Roques has been commissioned by FotoFest as Lead Curator for the Arab exhibitions. For full participants list click here.
Al Mahha Art Magazine 
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