The fair that brings artists and patrons together turns 10

This weekend, the Accessible Art Fair (AAF), which aims to make art accessible to and affordable for everyone, celebrates its 10th year, showcasing 75 artists in the Jewish Museum in Brussels' Sablon district. “We want to make quality emerging and mid-career artists accessible to the public and to make the public accessible to the artists,” explains AAF’s founder, curator Stephanie Manasseh.

The formula remains the same: allowing hand-picked artists to sell directly to collectors for prices as low as €100, bypassing the gallery, the art world’s traditional middleman. The event, also held previously in Antwerp, Bratislava and Tel Aviv, will make its debut in New York in November.

The AAF has seen substantial changes since its beginnings in 2007, Manasseh says. “It’s grown in size, the quality has improved, it’s well known in the art world, and it’s now an integral part of the Brussels art scene.”

In the next 10 years, she expects to see more interest from the general public, more people buying art for the first time and more international artists. Manasseh, a Canadian, set up AAF in Brussels after selling her mother’s artwork at small private events in Belgium. She is proud that the Jewish Museum, which is to be demolished and rebuilt next year, wanted to host the event.

“Brussels has been through a lot recently,” she says. “When the museum approached me, I thought there was no better place to stage such a positive event.”

She is also pleased the AAF is working with the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Antwerp, selecting four final-year masters students to present their work. “Partnering with such an important institution shows just how dedicated we are to artists and the arts,” she says. “We are also thrilled to have so many artists from abroad, from as far afield as Japan, Israel, the US and Morocco.”

Arts hub

Manasseh insists the AAF does not prioritise any particular group or age of artists, saying that organisers select them based on their work and merit. This year the selection committee’s top seven includes Russian illustrator Alexandr Grigorev, Colombian-Australian painter Maria Jimena Herrera and Bendt Eyckermans of Antwerp who creates oils on linen and paper.

Other local artists on the bill include Kim De Molenaer, Marco Schmidt and Alberto Saleh, all photographers based in Antwerp, and Christian de Wulf of Mechelen, whose thick layers of acrylic paint create three-dimensional effects on canvas.

Brussels is a hotbed for contemporary art – Art on Paper and Gallery Weekend were held in the capital this month and Design September is currently taking place, but Manasseh doesn’t see them as rivals: “Brussels is a real arts hub, and I’m glad to be part of this excellent group of events.”

We are thrilled to have so many artists from abroad, from as far afield as Japan, Israel, the US and Morocco

The AAF is also set to become a fixture in New York, sponsored by the Belgian-American Chamber of Commerce and Brussels Airlines. “So far the feedback for New York has been tremendous,” Manasseh says, noting that she hopes to add other US cities and possibly London to the AAF stable.

Online art news and auction site artnet.com recently signed on as the event’s prime media partner. “It’s my mission to keep the project interesting, to ensure we are talked about. This has solidified our place in the art world.”

For the fifth time, in conjunction with German luxury goods manufacturer Montblanc, the fair will present the Montblanc Likes Art award, where visitors choose their favourite participating artists. The artist with most votes on the AAF Brussels and Montblanc fan pages will be announced next month.

And the fair is also doing its bit for a good cause, with part of the proceeds of the 23 September late-night opening going to the Brussels-based charity Dokters van de Wereld.

22-25 September, Jewish Museum, Rue des Minimes 21, Brussels