This September in Paris, Menart Fair will be in tribute to women artists from the Middle East and North Africa.
The contemporary art scene of the region is filled with cultural richness, talent and diverse art. The art fair will be showcasing all arts, design, craft and technology, focusing on spotlighting women creatives from both the region and its diaspora who highlight through their art, socio-political issues, expression, identity, the body, sexuality and everyday practices.
Women play an important and a pivotal role in contemporary art and have also always done so in the arts and in art history, Menart fair will be emphasising this notion.
Founder of the art fair Laure d’Hauteville shares in the fair’s interview some statistics—based on a study conducted in 2023 by Art Basel Association,—that “In 2023, Arab women artists represented just 1.5% of the artists exhibited in international galleries […] ”. Menart Fair holding its fair dedicated to women artists of the MENA region, and going beyond gender identity, aims to encourage the art market that, —for far too long has been male dominated— to further emphasise on women in art from the MENA region, redress and balance the market.
d’Hauteville further conveys about the multiple countries that initiated creative programs for artists—The Egyptian government have created art education programmes for women, Moroccan artists have access to Visual Arts Support Fund, and Saudi Arabia and the UAE provide grants ensuring that 70% of the artists from the Gulf are women.
An array of galleries and artists to discover in Paris this September, below are some of the art that will be on display at the engaging Menart Fair, showcasing the importance of art, the flourishing art scenes of the MENA region, the depth and richness of the art, history and communities.
19th/20th September 2024 Menart Fair @ GALERIE JOSEPH, 5 rue Saint Merri, 75004, Paris
Carole Ingea, Point de Vue 2, 2024, wire mesh, 37x86x37cm, unique piece. Artists of Beirut (Beirut)
Fatimah Hossaini, Pearl in the Oyster 5, 2020, photography, 90x60cm. Art Girls Galerie (Paris)
Lara Zankoul, The Magic Clam, 2020, photography, 90x60cm. Art Girls Galerie (Paris)
Rajaa AlHajj, SURGE, 2024, acrylic on canvas, 120x120cm. Gallery Bawa (Kuwait)
Morvarid K, Cold Lace 7, 2017, gold ink on pigment print, Hahnemuhle photo rag 208gr paper, 40x60cm. Bigaignon (Paris)
Farah Behbehani, An Awake Heart is Like a Sky that Pours Light (1), 2022, OCÉ print with diamond dust on watercolour paper, 105x105 cm. Contemporary Art Platform
Leila Alaoui, Untitled, from the Natreen series, 2013. Centre Interculturel Laila Alaoui
Katya Traboulsi, Rejaa ya mama (Maman, je reviens), 2023, wall installation, hand painted iron, 160x120cm. Comptoir des Mines Galerie (Marrakech)
Sania Bahitova-Sazhenskaya, The Conversation, 2017, oil on canvas, 110x80cm. D2art Gallery (Dubai)
Sawsan Al Bahar, Jalabiya, 2022, graphite, watercolour and charcoal on paper 26x22cm. Firetti Contemporary (Dubai)
Annie Kurkdjian, Untitled, 2015, mixed media on paper, 100x200cm. Firetti Contemporary (Dubai)
Negin Fallah, Rudabeh of Tomorrow, 2021, acrylic on canvas, 90x70cm. Firetti Contemporary (Dubai)
Fatima Al-Nimr, Untitled #3, 2023, mixed media, 115x170cm. Khawla Art Gallery (Dubai)
Fatma Lootah, Portrait of the women in blue and green, 2022, mixed media, 100x120cm. Khawla Art Gallery (Dubai)
Amal El-Nakhala, Not a cubical concrete, 2024, mixed media on paper, 30x30cm. Katharina Maria Raab (Berlin)
Hasnae El Ouarga, Brief eclipse of time #12, 2022, cyanotype, 190x99cm. Katharina Maria Raab (Berlin)
Zineb Mezzour, Shape 1, from the series The Shape of Water, 2023, mural work in chamotte and porcelaine, 36,5x23x5cm.
Myriem Himmich Gallery (Casablanca)
Sama Beydoun, Leave me alone, 2022, risography edition from mixed media painting.
Shams Collective
Romy Matar, On the Greeks’ Bed, mixed media, 50x70cm. Shams Collective
Vishka Asayesh, Untitled 2, bronze sculpture. Simine Paris (Paris)
Zainab Alshibani, Cyclical Remanence, 2024, paper and aluminium wire, 150x100cm. Wusum Gallery (Doha)
Cynthia Zahar, Shuhud, 2023, book, picture, map, acrylic, cardboard, fabric, paper, 45x70cm. ZAAT (Beirut)
Mona Saudi, The Carob Tree, 2001, marble, 33x30x12 cm. Contemporary Art Platform (Kuwait)
