First contemporary art fair in the region, Lille Art Up gives pride of place to new talents

Epicenter of the art market in the region, Lille Art Up brings together for its fifteenth edition 500 artists and a hundred galleries. The opportunity to discover young talents.

Created in 2008 by Lille Grand Palais, Lille Art Up has managed over the years to make a place for itself and a name in the world of art fairs. With 30,000 visitors last year, it is now considered the first French contemporary art fair outside Paris.

Another proof of a success that goes beyond the borders of France: the diversity of galleries and artists selected for this 15th edition. Among the hundred galleries present until March 12, 24 come from Hauts-de-France, 19 are foreign. Ditto for the artists: 200 “international” out of the 500 present.

Memory of artists

The 2023 edition revolves around a theme entitled Memory games. The idea is to question the way in which artists shape the past and memory (that of a story, a memory, a feeling) to transform it into artistic material. Several proposals illustrate this theme. Theme was imagined in collaboration with the Paul Duhem Foundation based in Beloeil, Belgium. It presents the raw art works of 12 artists hosted at the Belgian psychiatric center La Pommeraie.

Interface is devoted to emerging international artists on the international scene. This year, six European talents are being honored and are starting to get talked about. Their works are at the heart of curatorial and institutional projects, outside the commercial circuit.

Some works, such as the photo diptych on the right, traveled more than 1,000 kilometers to be exhibited in Lille. (France 3 Nord Pas-de-Calais)

First steps

And finally Revelation, an exhibition dedicated to 12 young artists from art schools in the Euroregion. For them in particular, Lille Art Up is a unique opportunity to confront the realities of the art market. “It’s really the first confrontation with the general public, confirms Richard Skryzak, art teacher, with a framework, that of a contemporary art fair which presupposes a relationship with professionals”.

new audiences

Open to the general public as well as professionals, Lille Art Up is above all a fair. Here, we sell and we buy! Despite everything, the idea is to remain accessible. You can afford a work from €250. The act of buying is sometimes done in several stages and the fair is also used for this. For Jean-Luc Moreau, president of the Lille Art Galerie association, “the most important thing is to reach a clientele that we do not reach in the galleries, to establish a first contact and to make people want to come back to see us in the galleries”.

Always in a will of openness, Lille Art Up offers since last year a course Outside the Walls associating 6 structures of the territory: the Frac Grand Large (Dunkirk), the Lam (Villeneuve d’Ascq), the Swimming Pool (Roubaix), the Manufacture (Roubaix), the Fresnoy (Tourcoing) and the Artothèque Lasécu (Lille). All these places reserve visitors to the fair a special welcome in the form of guided tours, preferential rates or even workshops led by artists.

Lille Art Up, until March 12 at Lille Grand Palais – 1, Boulevard des Cités-Unies – 59777, Lille Euralille center – Opening hours: March 10, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. / March 11 and 12, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. – Prices from 12 to 18 euros – Tel: [phone].