Get ready for the fourth edition of Bahrain’s leading art fair, ArtBAB. The 2019 event will be presenting 16 international galleries from Buenos Aires to Mumbai . They will showcase works alongside local artists, strengthening ties with the Gulf and galleries across the world. ArtBAB seeks to build exciting creative bridges that serve as catalysts for the future of Bahraini and Middle Eastern Art.
Bahrain is a focal point for art in the West Asian region and establishes a forward-thinking platform to promote the growth of art in the country – Kaneka Subberwal
London’s TAG Fine Arts will present a specially curated contemporary cartographic display, featuring beautiful and highly creative maps of Bahrain and the surrounding area by seven international artists. Ewan David Eason’s impressive Mappa Mundi Bahrain is inspired by his series of continents, countries and cities, and draws on his beautiful use of gold leaf. Justine Smith integrates mapping and banknotes in her powerful Money Maps of the World series to explore the role of money in people’s lives and to illustrate key aspects of history and culture. Making an exciting return to ArtBAB this year is Bulgarian Art Agency Ltd with incredible artworks by Zurab Tsereteli, renowned Georgian-Russian artist and architect. Tsereteli, President of the Russian Academy of Arts, has been at the forefront of Georgian and Russian art for over forty years with works including the 1997 Moscow landmark statue Peter the Great, and the re-design of the outstanding Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on the Moscow River.
Galerie Bruno Massa will exhibit artworks by the emerging German painter Ursula Schregel and Jordanian artist and photographer Wedad Alnasser, and striking blown glass sculptures by Rudolf Breda. Besides, NK Gallery will travel from Antwerp to display works by acclaimed Belgian artist Didier Mahieu whose works in multiple mediums from painting to film earned him the 1993 Princess Grace International Prize in Contemporary Art.
Core Art Gallery from Athens and Buenos Aires-based contemporary art gallery Quimera will contribute to the impressive international line up along with Art Lounge, which aims to spread the work of international artists throughout Portugal. Cosmic Heart Gallery brings Natasha Lalla and Shailan Parker’s creative and abstract artistic creations from Mumbai. Participating from the Middle East is the Baghdad Art Gallery who can be seen alongside leading Dubai galleries Fann A Porter and Sconci Art Gallery. ArtBAB 2019 will also feature Zu_Cace, the innovative gallery from Zayed University’s College of Arts and Creative Enterprises, rounding out an impressive international programme with art intersecting from Bahrain and the Gulf with three continents across the globe.
Kaneka Subberwal, Founder of ArtBAB and Fair Director comments, “Through this exciting fair we are building our legacy for the future. By collaborating with such a wealth of artisanal design talents and bringing knowledge of artificial intelligence to the arts, we can welcome a host of fascinating artists and galleries to this exciting fourth edition of the fair – Bahrain continues to push boundaries in the arts, and I hope these new initiatives demonstrate this.”
The 2019 fair sees the return of BAB, Bahrain Across Borders, the platform to showcase Bahraini artists which this year attracted over 100 applicants. The artists have been selected by an expert curatorial panel, which consists of Amal Khalaf (Projects Curator, Serpentine Galleries, London), Nathalie Anglès (Co-founder and Executive Director of Residency Unlimited, New York), Rebecca Anne Proctor (Editor-in-Chief, Harper’s Bazaar Art Arabia) and Snejana Krasteva (Curator, Garage Museum, Moscow). These fantastic local artists, who will be exhibiting in the BAB Pavilion, include the youngest winner of Bahrain’s coveted Al Dana Prize Aysha Almoayyed, photographer Marwa Al Khalifa and interdisciplinary designer Othman Khunji. Hala Kaiksow, a prominent Bahraini weaver and designer, is creating and exhibiting work in collaboration with innovative design team Bahraini Danish.
This year’s fair will see the introduction of Virtual Reality art to the region, with a VR Corner showcasing private VR museums from DSL Collection, The Kremer Collection, and Khora Contemporary. ArtBAB 2019 will host an impressive array of over 40 speakers from 20 countries around the world in a Speakers Programme hosted in partnership with UNFOLD Art XChange.
ArtBAB 2019 is under the patronage of Her Royal Highness, Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Wife of His Majesty The King of Bahrain, President Of The Supreme Council for Women, in collaboration with Tamkeen.
Galleries
Art Agency Ltd, Bulgaria, Art Lounge, Lisbon, Portugal, Baghdad Art Gallery, Baghdad, Iraq, Bahrain Contemporary Art, Bahrain, Core Art Gallery, Athens, Cosmic Heart Gallery, Mumbai, India, Fann A Porter,, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Galerie Bruno Massa, Paris, France, IDEA4MI, Milan, Italy, NK Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium, Quimera Galeria, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Seed Art Gallery, India, TAG Fine Arts, London, United Kingdom Zu_Cace, Zayed University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
General Entry Artists
Halla bint Khalid, Yulia Volkonskaya, Balqees Fakhro and Dr. Ahmed Abdulla Ahmed, Faika Al Hasan, Jamal Abdulrahim, Lulwa Al Khalifa, Lobna Ameen, Maryam Nass, Nabeela AlKhayer, Dana Al Moaibed, Seema Baqi, Mariam Fakhro, Valentin Korzhov, Sahar Ahmadi, Taiba Faraj, Jonathan Parker, Salwa Almoayyed
BAB Pavilion Artists
Abdulkarim Al Orrayed Ahmed Al Asad, Ali Mubarak, Amani Al Hajeri, Aysha Almoayyed, Dalia Ali, Duaa Jamal Alaamer, Ghalia Abduljawad, Hasan Al Sari, Ishaq Madan, Jaafar Alhaddad, Khalid Al Jabri, Latifa Alkhayat, Mashael AlSaie, Marwa Al Khalifa, Mayasa Sultan Al Sowaidi, Moahamed Taqi, Mohammed Al Mahdi, Muhammed Alemadi, Nada Al Aradi,
Neda Khalil Al Jahrami, Noor Alwan
ArtBAB is the flagship project of Art Select, the international Bahrain-based art advisory, consultancy and curator of art events. ArtBAB is designed as a conversation between Bahrain’s artists and the rest of the art world. It has forged a unique identity for itself, as a marker of the Kingdom’s contemporary history as seen through the prism of art.
The art fair has grown organically over four years and created a new platform and commercial identity for Bahraini art without compromising on the quality of art. ArtBAB has enabled a 149% rise in the value of Bahraini art since it started and opened new viewpoints for Bahraini artists. It is a nourishing platform for emerging Bahraini artists and has sparked off successful careers in contemporary art for many Bahrainis.
Beginning in 2005 with shows in Dubai, London, Oman and Doha, Kaneka Subberwal has worked to make Bahrain a focal point for art in the West Asian region and establish a forward-thinking platform to promote the growth of art in the country. Through BAAB – Bahrain Art Across Borders – an initiative to take the art of Bahrain across borders globally, and with ArtBAB Kaneka has worked towards that aim. Alongside setting up Bahrain’s first art lounge in 2008 with her company Art Select, she has organised many art shows across the country leading up to the launch of ArtBAB 2019.
Photos: P C Robinson © Artlyst 2019
ArtBAB Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Center Wednesday 6th – Sunday 10th March 2019