BRAFA 2024

BRAFA opens its doors on Sunday, January 28th at the Brussels Expo, with 132 galleries exhibiting works from ancient antiquity to contemporary art and design. Since its debut in 1956, this eclectic and exciting art fair has marked the opening of the art fair season with its comprehensive vision and professional approach. With specialists across disciplines, including classical archaeology, antique, modern and contemporary paintings, furniture, sculptures, objets d’art from the Haute Epoque to the twenty-first century, textiles, books and more, the fair is a feast for the eyes.

For its 2023 edition, BRAFA welcomed 65,000 people, a record for the fair and a significant marker that the fair is continuing ahead with a positive and forward thinking approach. While the fair retains its stature as a leading antiques fair, there is an increased attention to cultivating a more diverse range of specialties to broaden the market and appeal to more contemporary tastes. As Didier Claes, the Vice-Chairman of BRAFA notes in a recent interview: “We can’t avoid taking the changing tastes of collectors and the market into account. If we’d stuck to what we were doing at the beginning, we would currently have an old-fashioned fair. We have to keep up with the market whilst maintaining a balance, and that’s no easy task. If you look at the Fair, you’ll see that it presents what you would expect to find in a collector’s home: a skilful blend of ancient art, modern art, contemporary art and design.”

The guest of honour this year is the Paul Delvaux Foundation, to mark the 30th anniversary of the great Surrealist painter’s death. A dedicated space will present an overview of the artist’s career a real voyage into Paul Delvaux’s world and imagination. 2024 also marks the 100th anniversary of Surrealism and across the fair many galleries will be putting this historic movement on the spotlight.

As with its tradition, BRAFA puts authenticity foremost in its focus. Before the fair opens, two days are devoted to expert appraisals from more than 80 international experts across different disciplines and periods.

The BRAFA annual art talks will also be taking place this year. From Sunday January 28th to Sunday February 4th, 2024, except on Monday January 29th, 2024, a BRAFA Art Talk will take place daily at 4 pm at the King Baudouin Foundation stand, no. 137. Figures from the art world including Hannah Thijs, Head of Collections & Exhibitions at the Museum Hof van Busleyden in Mechelen, Camille Brasseur, Director of the Paul Delvaux Foundation and David Lainé, Senior partner painting conservation & research at the International Platform for Art Research and Conservation will share their expertise with visitors.

Of note is BRAFA’S considerations for sustainability. Among some of the inititatives include the stands built by STABILO from wooden structures. After the exhibition, the stands are dismantled and the various components (panels, friezes, etc.) are stored in one of the construction company’s warehouses for reuse. To reduce energy consumption, BRAFA asked its exhibitors to opt for LED lighting on their stands. Halls 3 & 4 at Brussels Expo are lit with LEDs. The carpet that covers the aisles of the Fair has been created by the Danish firm EGE, which works on the basis of a sustainable and circular approach to production. Every year, for example, its structures transform 2,495 tonnes of yarn made from discarded fishing nets, used carpets and other types of industrial waste into new carpets. What’s more, after each edition, the BRAFA carpet is donated to associations that give it a new lease of life.

For more information about BRAFA and full list of exhibiting galleries, visit the website:

www.brafa.art

@brafaartfair