The event will bring together over 150 national and international artists from painters and digital artists to mixed-media creatives, photographers and more
– January 17, 2023
Storks nesting at Odiáxere, by Malcolm Hyde
The first Art Expo Algarve, an art exhibition which will bring together over 150 national and international artists together under the same roof, will be held for the first time between February 10 and 12 at the Portimão Arena.
The event is organised by a group of gallery owners and curators to address the lack of a large-scale art exhibition in the south of Portugal.
As organiser John Ganhão told the Resident, Art Expo Algarve will feature established and emerging artists, galleries and artist collectives, who will be exhibiting and selling high-quality artworks directly to the public. The idea to organise the event was inspired by John Ganhão’s travels around the world with his wife and artist, Viktoria Ganhão.
Blue Abstraction III, by Viktoria Ganhão
“We’ve been travelling around the world for 15 years, exhibiting at fairs and exhibitions abroad. I fell in love, not only with her art, but the works of many other artists around the world. But we noticed that there was also potential to organise our own event in the Algarve,” he said.
“We will be having artists from all over the world taking part. The event attracted a lot of interest, as there is no event like this one in the Algarve,” John told us.
The list of artists spans a wide range of areas, such as painters, digital artists, mixed media artists, photographers, sculptors and ceramic and glass artists.
Indeed, one of the goals of the event is to give art lovers in the Algarve, as well as the region’s visitors, a chance to enjoy spectacular artworks made by a wide range of artists.
Sam, by Eleonora Islamova
“There are many artists and some galleries (in the Algarve), but there wasn’t an event that brought them all together for a few days in one space,” said Ganhão.
This is precisely why organisers made sure to secure a large enough venue to accommodate such a large number of artists.
“We have a partnership with Portimão Council, which allowed us to use the Portimão Arena. These kinds of events take up a lot of space and there aren’t many spaces with the conditions to host these events,” he said.
Portimão Arena also boasts plenty of parking and is located near the northern entrance of the town, making it easily accessible for people travelling from outside of the town.
The first edition of the event was due to be held in 2022 but was delayed until this year due to the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, which halted the travel plans of many of the participating artists at the time.
Art Expo Algarve will be free to visit and opening hours will be between 11am and 9pm on Friday and Saturday and 11am and 8pm on Sunday. The fair is wheelchair-friendly.
More information on the event, such as the full list of participating artists, can be found online at www.artexpoalgarve.com
