Organised in the private mansion of the Cornette de Saint Cyr auction house in Paris, France’s first ever international modern and contemporary art fair dedicated to the Middle East and North Africa titled ‘MENART FAIR’ will take place between 27 and 30 May 2021.

The fair will showcase a collection of over 20 galleries, presenting works of over 60 modern and contemporary artists from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

Through the selection of participating galleries, MENART FAIR will highlight “the fertility, uniqueness, and originality of the artistic scenes of MENA today, supported by a number of renowned museums and institutions,” reads the fair’s website.

“Relatively little known to audiences, the contemporary artistic mosaic of MENA is still young. Several ‘moderns’ have asserted themselves there, now internationally recognised, and the young generation of contemporary artists is among the most numerous on the international art scene. This new generation is unparalleled in its richness and diversity, its fertile ebullition, its languages which converge or contradict each other, forming an unexpected mirror of the world.”

Taking place in the private mansion of the Cornette de Saint Cyr auction house, in Paris’ 8th district, the fair is founded by the Lebanese-based French curator and art director Laure d’Hauteville who is also behind the founding of the well-known Beirut Art Fair (founded in 2010); as well as the Singapore Art Fair (2014), the first and only fair in Asia dedicated to artists of the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia regions.

D’Hauteville has also collaborated in founding the first two editions of Art Paris-Abu Dhabi (2007-2008), currently known as the Abu Dhabi Art Fair. 

The MENART FAIR also includes efforts of its co-founder Paul De Rosen and artistic director Joanna Chevalier.

The organisers are yet to reveal the detailed programming of the fair which, apart of the artistic showcase, will also include talks and conferences.

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