On May 11th 2018 Armenia’s very first art fair welcomed artworld professionals, buyers, and the general public to come together and discover art from the Caucasus, Russia, the Middle East, and the UK. It provided an arena not only for established artists and galleries but also for the ones who are operating in more unconventional was such as pop-up and online galleries, paving the way and creating space for the inclusion of more artists and art.
The four day fair had 19 exhibitors, more than 20 artists in the curated “Open Space”, and lectures and art talks attracting almost 2,000 attendees over the weekend. In total 10 artworks were sold and 3 new works were commissioned.
The event took place at the Yerevan Expo Center, which has 2 floors with over 4,500 square meters of space for exhibition.
Armenian-based galleries were represented such as Karoyan Gallery, Antikyan Gallery, Dalan Art Gallery, Gallery25, and Tatul Arakyan Art Gallery. The international booths this year were presented by Art Residence Aley from Lebanon and the Syrian London-based gallery Litehouse. The participation of young Armenian artists was emphasized through the presence of the State Academy of Fine Arts of Armenia and Belarus
Du arte online Gallery (UAE) and Artbeep (UK), two exclusively online galleries, presented some of their work at the fair, both virtually and in person.
There were also a number of projects which promoted Armenian art beyond its borders such as KulturDialog Armenian and Progressive Art Agency, an international artistic collective . The curated booths included the participation of Belarusian Nata Sokolowski and an exhibition entitled The Figure: Presence and Absence by Dr. Randall Rhodes.
The Discover section was presented by the 7th Contemporary Art Fair (St. Petersburg) an independent nomadic art market from St. Petersburg.
Armenia Art Fair 2018 has introduced its new curatorial project, the Open Space, by curator Eva Kachatryan. The Open Space was dedicated to artist/curator collaborations, independent art initiatives and organizations, showing exclusively contemporary art with a focus on video art, prints, and installations.
The Armenia Art Fair also played host to a number of talks, performances , exhibition and workshop.
“Slavs and Tartars” the collective’s practice which is based on three activities: exhibitions, books, and lecture-performances, presented the “Transliteration Tease” lecture – performance
Discussion around the table was devoted to the topic “Shifting Perspectives on Art from Local to Global and how can a local artistic practice remain authentic in places of trade and commodity” with Moderator Dr. Randall Rhodes, the art critic and director of the Art and Cultural Studies Laboratory (ACSL) Susana Gyulamiryan, the visiting curator and writer Georg Schoellhammer, and art critic and curator Nazareth Karoyan, the director of the Institute for Contemporary Art.
A special project in partnership with HAYP Pop Up Gallery “The Leather Show”, presented the emerging Yerevan-based artist, Narek Barseghyan. A solo exhibit of paintings featuring a collaborative fashion performance by designers Narek Djangiryan, Tatev Khachatryan, Sarko Meené, and Varditer Muradyan.
In conjunction with the ARè performing arts festival, the Armenia Art Fair hosted Christian Zehnder art performer, soloist, and director, an unusual vocal artist who has made his name internationally through coining a new musical and performance style
The Visual Gap Gallery Gängeviertel Art Center plus Goethe Institute had a hands-on educational program for all ages at the Armenia Art Fair, which allowed guests to try their hand at screen-printing tote bags and backpacks.
All of this took place against the backdrop of extraordinary events in Armenia that have opened up a thrilling new reality for our country. Armenia Art Fair intends to take its place in this exciting new era.