Brussels Accessible Art Fair: Everyone's invited
Launched in 2007, the Brussels Accessible Art Fair has made it its mission to demolish the myth that art is only for those with money. Anouk Lepretre meets the woman who came up with the successful concept
Art has always contained a notorious contradiction: made by the struggling and starving for a rich and comfortable elite. But in 2005, Stephanie Manasseh found a loophole. It all began with her pregnancy which helped her decide to take a break from her career as a conference organiser.
“Having lots of free time on my hands, I joined the Brussels Childbirth Trust,” she explains. “The women I met there would come over for coffee, and they were very interested when I showed them some of my mother’s artwork.”
The real buzz started when friends began to buy pieces while spreading the word. Soon, what started as a casual get-together became a small event, hosted at her house, for people to come talk, drink, and buy art.
After her daughter Lily was born, Manasseh had the idea to visit galleries in Brussels, not only to become acquainted with the local art scene, but also to see if they would be interested in exhibiting some of her mother’s work.
“This is unfortunately where I felt what it is like to be a struggling artist, as the galleries were not too keen about exhibiting the works of an unknown in Belgium. Gallery after gallery, I received the same response. I felt a little discouraged, but still optimistic.”
After a decent amount of rejection, she had a light-bulb moment, realising that if you can’t join ’em, beat ’em. She found that “there was no art fair for the expat community and someone had to bring them one”.
It was in 2007 that her brilliant idea came to see the light of day. With nine artists, including her mother, by her side, she founded the event that turned the Brussels art scene on its head. Now art would be accessible to a huge range of people who normally wouldn’t have the money to buy from galleries or the time to peruse the flea markets.
The first edition of the Brussels Accessible Art Fair pulled in almost 1,000 visitors, while the most recent one earlier this year saw almost 3,000 art lovers attend. Everyone is invited and there is always a large turnout from the expat community. The buzz on this event is actually becoming so loud that we should call it a roar, bringing some visitors from as far away as France and England.
Exhibited at the fair are paintings, photography, and sculptures from a diverse group of artists. The majority reside in Belgium, but a few of them come from further away, such as Turkey, Singapore, and the United States. Luc Dratwa is one artist Manasseh is “very proud to have join the event, as his photographs are celebrated in Belgium, although the captured images are from all over the world”. He chose to take part for the same reason as many of the other artists did; it’s fun! This is also why most artists come to Manasseh to request participation in the fair, even though she does try to scout out artists when time allows her.
The word ‘accessible’ is truly all-encompassing in describing the art fair. In Manasseh’s eyes, “the event is accessible for the artist, to give them the opportunity to reach a new, international and local crowd, without having to pay an arm and a leg to exhibit. It is accessible to the public because it is in the city, easy to get to, admission is free, and the works are affordable.” Ranging from €50-€3,000, with most prices in the €600-€1,000 bracket, affordability is definitely a crowddrawing trait. “The buyers are people who simply don’t have time to go to galleries and stay up-to-date with the latest in the local art scene. Buying art is addictive. Once you buy a piece, you can’t stop,” says Manasseh.
With affordability playing a key role, it seems a bit odd to host the next event in a four-star hotel, the Silken Berlaymont close to the European Commission. Manasseh acknowledges that many of the visitors are expats but for her the most important thing is that “the venue brings two worlds together, and maybe gives those who wouldn’t even dream of paying the high fees the opportunity to experience the hotel without doing so”.
Photo above: Still life by Fiona O’Farrell
FIND IT:
Brussels Accessible Art Fair,
Hotel Silken Berlaymont,
11 Boulevard Charlemagne/Karel de Grotelaan, Brussels.
November 20 to 22.
For details, see www.accessibleartfair.com
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