For the last five years, the Menart Fair has provided a vital space for artists from the Arab-Persian Gulf, the Levant and North Africa to show the incredible diversity and calibre of their work in Europe. Uniquely devoted to the art of the MENA region, the show has developed into both a standout boutique commercial fair and a platform for education, providing potential patrons with knowledge about the various creatives, cultures and practices represented at their exhibitions.

Created in 2021 by Founder and Fair Director Laure d'Hauteville, Menart Fair was born out of a desire to bring the creative talents and cultural heritage of the MENA region to an international audience. In a global art market dominated overwhelmingly by works produced by US and European creators, many MENA artists face difficulties gaining recognition outside of their home countries.

In preparation for their next edition in Paris this month, in response to the sharp increase in political tensions throughout the Middle East over the last year, d’Hauteville has decided that the time is right to turn the spotlight in a new direction and give visitors to Menart Fair the chance to engage with a different perspective: that of the region’s many female artists.

“For the fifth edition, I really wanted it to be different from all the other editions I had done before, including with Beirut Art Fair,” explains d'Hauteville. “I wanted to do something 100 per cent female because – with female artists, at this time – we can deliver a message of peace and understanding. We can see things differently.”

“Politically, what is happening is very difficult,” she continues, “but – culturally – it is not only war and destruction. We all have a heritage, and it's important to exchange and talk about Arab heritage. This is what I want to show, through these women.”

The vision for this fully female edition pushes past the tired questions of gender and orientalist stereotypes and tropes that surround Western perceptions of the Middle East, choosing instead to focus on the richness and significance of the role of women within the various artistic landscapes of the MENA region.

“The West thinks that Arab art is only calligraphy that reads ‘Allahu Akbar’  – that, in Arab countries, they do not represent women in their artworks,” she adds. “I would like to open the minds of visitors so that they can understand that something else is happening. These artists are painting what they are living, and you can see the histories of those countries.”

“In my first exhibition in Saudi Arabia, in 2000, I had to wear an abaya and a veil, but when I went inside, in private places, it was not like that,” remembers d'Hauteville. “The women were talking about everything. They were really open, and the men were too. So, it was strict by politics, but inside people's homes it was open because culture opens doors to dialogue and exchange.”

With twenty-nine galleries slated to take part and showcase around a hundred artists, two-thirds of which are newcomers to Menart Fair, the programme for this milestone event is already shaping up to be extremely exciting. 

In addition to the main exhibition, the fifth edition of Menart Fair will introduce a brand new section titled REVEALING, offering visitors the opportunity to discover both new artists and rediscover once-prominent artists that have been forgotten by the wider art scene. 

Particular highlights include young Jordanian architect and designer Xena Kalouti, exhibiting pieces from her Microcosmic collection, made from recycled wood and designed using traditional craft techniques, and Iranian artist Samaneh Atef, a self-taught creative and activist who was exiled from her homeland. Her compositions – akin to outsider art – give form to her feelings and thoughts, expressed through abstract shapes, bodies and landscapes that reveal the inner turmoil of Iranian society.

However, the focus is not purely on the artistic achievements of MENA region women. The academic achievements of women will also take centre stage within Menart Fair’s featured special project, The Shâhnâmè of Shah Tahmasp by art historian Dr. Zahra Faridany-Akhavan.

Originally written in the 11^th century by the poet and writer Ferdowsi, one of the most influential figures in all of Persian literature, the Shâhnâmè – or Book of Kings – is an epic poem that retells the history of the ancient kingdom of Iran, from its mythological beginnings through to the Islamic conquest of the 7^th century. 

The particular manuscript that acts as the subject of Faridany-Akhavan’s studies – once the property of Shah Tahmasp of Iran’s Safavid dynasty – is considered a masterpiece of Persian art, demonstrating the height of Safavid illumination with more than 250 watercolour illustrations. Tragically, Tahmasp’s Shâhnâmè was destroyed during the events of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, and its pages scattered across the globe.

“This book used to be exhibited in the Museum of Tehran, but the book was stolen,” recounts d'Hauteville. “Now, pages and drawings from this book are found in different places all over the world. Some of them have been sold [to private collectors]; it’s impossible for this book to ever be all together again.”

For four decades, Faridany-Akhavan has been researching the story of this manuscript, examining the elusive pages and reconstructing the book, piecing together an understanding of its significance in Safavid-era Iran. At Menart Fair, her reconstitution of this priceless artefact – alongside archive documents and a documentary film – will be shown to the public for the first time.

“I'm very honoured to have her with us for our exhibition,” says d’Hauteville. “She has never shown her research to the public before, and she chose our Menart Fair to present 40 years of her work.”

The fifth edition of the Menart Fair will open its doors to visitors from September 20^th to September 22^nd, hosted by Galerie Joseph in Paris.

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