Activate, Rebel, Change.
The AAF published a call for action this week: Attention Artists & Crafters. Ready to ACTIVATE your creativity at the Aruba Art Fair 2024? This is your moment to REBEL, MARCH, and CHANGE the art world. Showcase your unique work in a revolutionary movement where every piece tells a story of transformation.
Registration is OPEN! Seize the opportunity to be part of an unforgettable event that celebrates limitless creativity. Don’t miss your chance to shine!
Spread the word and let’s ACTIVATE together! Register now at www.arubaartfair.com
#ArubaArtFair2024 #ActivateArt #ArtRevolution #BeTheChange #ArtFair
The annual Aruba Art Fair, taking place in St Nicolas, is planned for September 6th, 7th, and 8th, 2024 — it will be the 7th edition of the event.
The program included different attractions and performances, workshops, and exhibits, including the Art-Fashion spectacle on opening night.
The list of local and international artists is growing.
The Aruba Art Fair is a much liked and followed annual hoopla!
In 2016, for the first edition of AAF, we were totally surprised by the excellent content on display and by the great interest it provoked among islanders. In September 2016, AAF attracted 10,000 visitors in just one weekend and injected a tremendous energy into the otherwise sleepy town of St Nicolas.
The local artist community and a remarkable number of foreign artists left their mark on walls and buildings around the town’s main street. The murals stayed behind to tell the story. St. Nicolas has become the biggest outdoor art gallery in the Caribbean and many island visitors are happy to explore its art treasures.
While international artists started the mural collection, early on local artists, Robert Solognier, George Rosel and Paul Wong joined, contributing their talents, and more join every year.
It is important to mention that the Art Fair is inclusive, and while a curator is in charge of displaying the art in the two official galleries, everyone is welcome to display their work on the street, the lines between art and artisania are sometime blurred, interchanging art and décor, art and any artistic expression.
(Thankfully, the days of the French Academy members selecting just a handful few that conformed with their taste, are long over.)
AAF is about self-expression, and the opportunity to unleash the inner artist.
In preparation for the upcoming fair, AAF is looking for more gallery space around the main street. Three buildings have been bought by an unfriendly developer, which limits the inventory of available display spaces.
Last year’s theme was Unchained. The Art Fashion show focused on the theme greatly in view of the apology for slavery and its horrors, delivered by the Dutch King Willem-Alexander, in Amsterdam, at the country’s annual commemoration of the abolition of slavery in Suriname and Caribbean colonies.
This year’s theme is different: Activate, Rebel, Change!
At a recent town’s meeting at the Artisa Gallery, Curator Renwick Heronimo and organizer Tito Bolivar elaborated on the subject encouraging artists to make their voice heard, provoke though and reaction, communicate new perspectives, question the status quo, speak about beliefs and inspire others to take action, critique, persuade, and inform.
Artists were encouraged to comment on the world around them with their tools of self-expression.
I look forward to the first weekend in September. Don’t miss, buy tickets in advance.
The opening act, the fashion show, is always worth the trip to San Nicholas.
