Art Bahrain contemporary art fair saw VIP visitors coming to enjoy arts, thinking that it’s necessary to assist artists looking for an audience, and buyers, most importantly — to show support for the aesthetic basis upcoming generations.
At the end of March, 23 to 26, the International Manama exhibition center in the Kingdom of Bahrain hosted the contemporary art fair Art Bahrain Across Borders, curated by a team of British experts headed by Alister Hicks, Jonathan Watkins, and David Hawkins. The arrangements of the event grid proposed three main sections — individual booths of Bahrain contemporary artists, 11 gallery booths from all around the world, also video art, shown on more than 10 wide TV screens. As for the second fair edition, contrary to Positions Berlin, Barcelona International Fair, or Rotterdam Contemporary, all was perfectly organized — teamwork, volunteering aid, and framing services just on the spot, professional exhibition light.
Due to the outside city commercials and patronage of Her Majesty the Queen herself, the fair gained uncommon popularity among the local population and was in the media agenda in the region of the Arabian Gulf. In fact, by the exhibitors' names Art Bahrain was not behind its other competitors, like Art Dubai, and expected a success — apart from the Indian galleries, European galleries were represented by the Maddox Gallery (London), Ukrainian Lithuanian TSEKH gallery, David Ridley Gallery (Copenhagen), Temnikova & Kasela (Tallinn, Estonia) and Charraudeau (Paris). The prices for art pieces were not that shocking and were equivalent to the medium European rate. Were happening private and corporate collections acquisitions, for instance, some TSEKH gallery artworks got to the country’s private collectors. Also, there was a notable interest from the foreign business community, who used to work in the region. Despite all that, curators entertained the art schedule through workshops and public discussions, like contemporary art market one.
I’ve got an overall idea that, despite the overwhelming presence of original and innovative content of the Eastern European galleries, they were in fact rather exclusions from the general rules. The video art of Chinese artist Cao Fei, Japanese author Shimabuku, and Estonian artist Flo Casearu — by the way, they took one-third part of the exhibition hall — emotionally entertained the modernist art fair message: Eastern landscapes and abstractions, several portraits, animalistic paintings, interesting from the first sight objects, somewhere already seen things made by “Damian Hirst,” multiple horse sculptures executed in various materials and techniques. Understanding big importance of contemporary art for the country’s economic and identity development, not also His Highness the King, but other noble gentlemen from the country’s political establishment personally galvanized the exhibition show by their own appearance, visiting booths, and sometimes even personal sympathies towards this or that artwork. Except for the aforementioned, among the participants were contemporary art galleries and artists from Oman, United Arabic Emirates, and Syria.
The audience which visited Art Bahrain Across Borders stood out by social status and were present honorable representatives of the Kingdom elites, who perceived our Art most delicately. That being said that broad Bahrain audience was not just ready to consume contemporary visual art, but simultaneously proved themselves attentive to observing fine and complex achievements of European art, for instance, the original method of color harmonization by Mykola Bilous or ravishingly outstanding masterpiece watercolors by Ievgen Petrov. That was proven by active interest from the first people of the country and by the fact of real synergy and close communication of various cultural identities between themselves. It’s clear that our gallery's visual art requires more time to be liked. Overall, such high-level contemporary art fair execution is equally vital for the whole region, the country, organizers, curators, and common visitors.
The article’s author is grateful for the extraordinary hospitality and warm reception of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Manama, and the International exhibition center.
