Brussels Accessible Art Fair

One of my favourite pastimes is viewing the work of other artists, particularly when it comes to things I just can’t do like paint, draw, sculpt, or basically anything that doesn’t involve lenses and Photoshop. As much as I love visiting galleries and art shows, it always makes me a bit depressed that I can’t afford to own most of the work I fall in love with. Enter the Brussels Accessible Art Fair (or BAAF) which Andrew and I visited on Saturday night.

The BAAF is the brainchild of fellow Canadian, Stephanie Manasseh, who wanted to make art here in Belgium more accessible and affordable to the average person. In 2007 the first BAAF was held and it has been growing in popularity with artists and art-lovers alike.

This year’s BAAF represented 30 artists from around the world, including artists from Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Chile, Zimbabwe and elsewhere. Over 3000 visitors attended the show, over the weekend. Although entrance to the BAAF is free, Andrew and I visited on Saturday night when donations were being taken for charity. It was a nice knowing that the money we would normally spend to attend an art show was actually going to help a good cause.

What makes the BAAF unique is that all of the artists are on hand to talk about their works with the viewers. The interaction between the artists and the buyers breaks down some of the walls that are often superficially imposed in the art world.

The calibre and variety of the art was what really made the show. There were several photographers in the mix with painters ranging from surrealism and abstract to print makers. Bright and bold colour seemed to be a trend and it wasn’t long before several pieces caught our eye.

A series of wine and scotch glasses, titled Reflections, by artist Fiona O’Farrell were beautifully done. The light seemed to glint off the edges of the glass. Unfortunately for us (but great for the artist) the largest of the pieces and our favourite was already sold.

I was also taken by the beautiful colours and organic shapes of Canadian artist Lea Shabat. Much of her work on display featured warm earth-tones and purples that were soothing and beautiful to look at. I intend to follow her work closely and one of her paintings just may be making an appearance on our wall at some point.

Artist Julie Campbell had some fantastic flower paintings on display which of course appealed to the garden photographer in me. But the work that Andrew and I both fell in love with was a series of paintings of Amsterdam by a Welsh woman living in the Netherlands.

Rachel Stewart’s paintings use swirling lines and bold colours to bring her canal and street scenes to life. The paintings are fun and quirky and immediately invoke all of the things we loved about living in Amsterdam. She doesn’t have a website but I will post photos as soon as they make their way onto the walls later this week, but I know we will enjoy them for years to come.

If you are an art-lover on a bit of a budget or you just enjoy meeting and interacting with artists and their art, consider attending the next BAAF in the fall.