Beirut gets new art fair and a dose of déjà vu

Clearly a metropolis the size of this one can never have too many art fairs. The phenomenon, however, is a surprisingly recent one.

The trend got going in 2010 with the launch of the Menasart Fair, which focused on work from the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. Later rebranded as the Beirut Art Fair (“Beirut’s exclusive Contemporary Art fair,” as its website puts it), it flogs all manner of visual art and photography.

The Beirut Photo Fair was launched in 2012 and, if all goes according to plan, it will hold its third edition this year at Karantina’s Artheum. The same venue has also played host to the Syrian Art Fair.

Since Wednesday, the space has hosted a third marketplace for contemporary art objects: the Contemporary Beirut Global Art Fair.

The new fair includes work by artists from Lebanon, Syria, Germany, China, Japan, Tanzania and Senegal, working in media ranging from paintings, sculptures, photographs and installations.

Read article here –

Beirut gets new art fair and a dose of déjà vu