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Beirut.com

Inception

Mark Hachem Gallery cordially invites you to “Inception” private preview curated by Marianne Nems.

Inception is an exhibition of Graffiti Street Art and Introduction to B.I.G.S. Art Fair. BIGS is an international art fair with a focus on Graffiti Street ART, gathering established and emerging artists worldwide.

The biggest fairs – with smaller satellite fairs, and long menus of ancillary programming – draw visitors from all over the world. These fairs are travel destinations and social gatherings as well as unparalleled opportunities for collectors to see an outstanding array of high quality art.

In the last decade, the art world has become increasingly event-driven. The quantity, quality, and variety of art available at leading art fairs – such as Art Basel in Basel and Miami, Frieze in London, Tefaf (The European Fine Art Fair) in Maastricht and the Armory Art Show in New York City – often exceed the offerings of the two large auction houses in their semi-annual sales.

Art Basel is limited to art produced after 1900; Frieze is strictly contemporary; Tefaf, long the premier vehicle for Old Master dealers, now also includes 20th century (but not contemporary) art. In addition to these high-profile events, there are literally dozens of other art fairs throughout the U.S. and the world.

B.I.G.S. being the only fair exclusively dedicated to Graffiti Art will offer an elite and exceptionally efficient way to collect. Although some people travel long distances to attend, B.I.G.S. as a fair will also give the residents of their host cities a chance to acquire works from a far-flung array of galleries. Emerging collectors can use fairs to develop their eyes and find a direction. Experienced collectors – knowing that dealers often save their best material for fairs – rush to be the first through the door. Fairs can generate an excitement and competitive energy similar to auctions.

B.I.G.S., created by curator Marianne Nems, is scheduled to start its journey in July 2012. This unique project, which exclusively features international Graffiti Street Art, will provide the opportunity to all exhibitors to display and market their works in Beirut and world-wide.

One of the goals of B.I.G.S. is to aid these artists in finding a direction and avenue to promote their work. Many of them lack an ability to define their art or its value, not understanding how to develop and move forward, or otherwise not finding the right fit in galleries or Museums.

In general, well-known galleries in Lebanon prefer exhibiting established artists within the areas of modern, abstract, figurative, and some contemporary art. Unfortunately, they exclude Graffiti Street Art, which is one of Beirut’s biggest assets.The ‘taggers’ would use other people’s properties as canvas.

Today, B.I.G.S. wants to honor graffiti artists by introducing Beirut’s Street Art and show them that their movement has traveled oceans, and that other communities have also experienced a similar struggle.

Art is international and ought to be shared. It is a national asset in Lebanon that should be exported and cared for.

B.I.G.S. will honor Lebanese and international graffiti galleries and artists by merging and sharing; exhibiting
works, and exporting them worldwide, thus spreading the message of peace and freedom.