Affordable Art Fair offers holiday gifts while supporting Seychellois artists

Art lovers can purchase paintings, drawings and photography, either as originals or prints. Etching, sculptures and mixed media are also on sale. (Salifa Karapetyan, Seychelles News Agency)

(Seychelles News Agency) - Wondering what to gift a loved one for this coming festive season? That perfect Christmas or New Year present might be waiting for you at the 'Affordable Art Fair' taking place at Eden Space Gallery, on Eden Island, Seychelles.

Organised by Arterial Network Seychelles, the seventh edition of the fair kicked off on Friday and will be open until January 15. Art lovers can purchase paintings, drawings and photography, either as originals or prints. Etching, sculptures and mixed media are also on sale.

Around 30 artists - ranging from established artists to amateur photographers and students from the Seychelles Institute of Art and Design (SIAD) - who live and work in Seychelles are showcasing and selling their work.

Members of the public can purchase the over 200 pieces of works currently in the gallery from 10.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. from Monday to Friday. On Saturday, the gallery is open between 11.00 a.m. and 2.00 p.m.

There are over 200 pieces available for purchase. (Salifa Karapetyan, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

The maximum sale price of artwork is capped at $377 (SCR8000) so as to keep the artwork affordable. Organisers of the fair say that most of the work is significantly below this price ceiling.

The annual event gives the gallery the opportunity to offer work at a lower price than what they might normally cost and hence artists were encouraged to produce smaller, affordable pieces for rapid sales.

The chairman of the Arterial Network, Martin Kennedy, told SNA that "the beneficiary, of course, is the client as they are able to pick up some good bargains.

He added that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he and his team were unable to hold an opening or private viewing this year, which "is a real shame."

"Vernissage for this particular event is always really well attended. In past years, we have had a considerable percentage of our sales generated on the opening night, but because of the restrictions in place due to COVID, we were not able to do that. We are now relying on people dropping in over the next six weeks or so to see the work and buy some of it," said Kennedy.

For the first time this year, the gallery is also curating a craft exhibition. On two Saturdays - December 12 and December 19 - a mini craft fair, which will spill over into the plaza walkway, is going to take place.

"There will be some high-end crafts, which kind of crosses the boundary between fine art and craft that will be part of the affordable art fair show. It will be on display the whole time. People will be able to come and take a table from us and sell their own craft. This gives everybody the opportunity to bring something that they have been making and sell it," said Kennedy.

He added that there will be no commission on the sale of the craft as there will be an SCR500 rental for the tables.

Arterial Network Seychelles, launched in November 2011, aims at supporting and developing art in Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean. It is part of Arterial Network, a Pan-African civil-society network grouping artists, cultural activists, entrepreneurs, enterprises, non-profit organisations, institutions, and donors active in Africa's creative and cultural sectors.