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The Accessible Art Fair (AAF) is a contemporary art fair originally launched in Belgium. Introduced in 2007, the fair takes place annually and lasts four days, presenting more than 50 artists including local and international painters, photographers, sculptors, and designers. The artists are carefully selected from a jury of professionals in the field.
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The Accessible Art Fair offers a high-end platform that puts artists in direct contact with the discerning public. The opportunity for the public to meet the artists at the fair breaks communication barriers that can exist in a gallery setting. Creating a relationship between the artist and the buyer helps to establish a greater understanding of the passion behind the work.
History
The Accessible Art Fair was founded by Stephanie Manasseh with the mission to give a platform to talented emerging and established artists to sell their work to an art buying public.The first edition of Accessible Art Fair took place in 2007, hosting nine artists at the European Training Institute. Following the success of the 2008 and 2009 editions at the Silken Hotel, which drew nearly 4,000 visitors combined, the fair moved to the Steigenberger Grandhotel (formerly Conrad Brussels Hotel) where it has been held since 2010. In 2012 it welcomed over 6,000 visitors. In 2014, The Accessible Art Fair took take place at the prestigious Cercle de Lorraine.
Director
The founding director is the Canadian-born arts curator Stephanie Manasseh. After graduating from McGill University, she moved to Europe where she studied at Sotheby’s in London. In Belgium, Stephanie Manasseh began exhibiting her mother’s artwork at small, private events. The idea for Accessible Art Fair stemmed from the success of these sales, giving her the impulse to organize similar events on a larger scale where potential art buyers could establish a personal bond with the artist whose works they would acquire.
Artists
Among the artists that have participated are:
Jury
The participating artists are chosen by a panel of judges featuring art and lifestyle specialists. For the 2014 edition of the Brussels Accessible Art Fair, the jury is composed of Juliette Debruxelles (Culture and Lifestyle Journalist for Elle Belgique), Kunty Moureau (Freelance journalist, Art, design, Fashion, Architecture), Kathryn Smith (Managing director Ampersand House), Sophie Clauwaerts (Managing director of ArtExpert),Aude de Vaucresson (Contemporary art specialist, formerly from Sotheby’s) and art fair director Stephanie Manasseh.