The Mauritius International Art Fair (MIAF) 2022 held its opening at the Galerie du Génie at EDITH in Port-Louis on June 23, in the presence of the President of the Republic of Mauritius, His Excellency, Prithvirajsing Roopun and an audience of guests. The theme of this 2nd edition of MIAF is ‘Bridge The Gap, Build The Future’.
With the aim of positioning Mauritius as a cultural destination, MIAF 2022 is a meeting place for international, local, regional and Diaspora artists. With the participation of 50 local artists as well as 58 international and more than ten regional and 5 from the Diaspora, this event sees itself as a synergy of culture, creativity, diversity and symbiosis to offer on the African continent and the regions. nearby. The works exhibited are paintings, paintings, installations as well as sculptures and works of photography. MIAF’s vision is to promote art in its many facets while doing cultural tourism. It promises to make Mauritius an artistic destination, which will highlight its wealth and its heritage. This artistic gathering is the long-awaited opportunity for local and international artists to showcase their talents after two tumultuous years of Covid-19.
The idea is to highlight the works of art of the artists and to create a collective platform in order to make vibrate their talents and their know-how. The opportunity was also be given to children so that they can give free rein to their imagination with the session of ‘Little Picasso’ which took place on June 25th. A session dedicated to the artists, named, ‘Artist Avenue’, was also there. A day dedicated to art is also on the program with several cultural associations. For Zaahirah Muthy, “This event, which brings together the work of more than 100 artists, is evidence that we live in an artistic world. Now is the time to highlight this aspect of Mauritius and create this synergy with artists around the world for a better future. It is an honour to be able to bounce back with the second edition of the Mauritius International Art Fair, which promises to be grandiose and more substantial than the first, because it consists of bringing together all the protagonists of art thus promoting investment in the artistic world. We received the participation of artists from the African continent such as Madagascar, Rodrigues, Seychelles as well as those from Reunion Island.”
According to Vick Shibdoyal, artist and lecturer at MIE, “It is an honour to have participated in MIAF in 2019. Since then, we have worked in collaboration on various projects with the ZeeArts team. Among, the majestic work of art which is on the roundabout of Phoenix and which will be unveiled very soon by Phoenix Beverages Group. It is a unique project in Mauritius and in the Indian Ocean if I can say so because it was built with more than four tons of recycled metals and measures 10 meters in height. This has been very rewarding as we have worked tirelessly to achieve this beautiful sculpture. Today, I am among the organizing members of MIAF 2022. We are working hard to enrich Mauritian culture in order to offer a colorful event to Mauritians. It is an event rich in culture and diversity. We organize several events even with the very small cars we wish to make discover this artistic facet of Mauritius.”
Present for the edition of MIAF 2022, Charly Lesquelin, artist from Reunion Island made the trip to come and discover the artistic cache of Mauritius. “I think it’s a very good idea to bring together artists from the area, from the Indian Ocean and from all over the world. It’s a way to meet after the Covid because the energy disperses when there is no meeting with other artists and international events. I am very proud to represent the meeting here and to be part of MIAF.”
Abhi Indrarajan, photographer from Dubai, who also made the trip for the event, believes that the Mauritius International Art Fair is an opportunity for local and international artists to celebrate art. “I am proud to be part of this cultural and artistic fusion. My photographic work of Umhlanga Pier was taken in Durban South Africa. It is a work that demonstrates how we perceive things differently at the same time, in juxtaposition. I hope to enrich myself with this art festival and take advantage of this multiculturalism,” said Abhi.
Visitors were also given the opportunity to make purchases of works of art, sculptures, paintings, photographs and other installations which were exhibited and offered for sale at the Galerie du Génie in EDITH.
