From 23 to 31 January in the capital of Belgium BRAFA will host the 2016 — Brussels art fair, one of the oldest in the world

C 23 to 31 January in the capital of Belgium BRAFA will host the 2016 — short for Brussels Art Fair — Brussels art fair. This is one of the oldest art fairs in the world, and spends her non-profit Association "the antique dealers Fair of Belgium".

on the Eve of the annual event ARTinvestment.RU proposed a formal representative BRAFA in Russia Catherine de Rochambeau-Лимонад (k.limonad@mail.ru) to formulate the 10 reasons why Russian collectors should visit the Brussels fair. And that's what turned her arguments.

1. No one will be bored. On BRAFA collectors will find works of art, covering the period from antiquity to the present day and more than 20 fields of art. Archaeology, jewellery, ceramics and porcelain, paintings and drawings, used books, photography, tapestries, Asian art live harmoniously on adjacent stands. Thus, opposite each other you can meet Greek statue and work of Jan Fabre, chest of Rullman and tapestry of the XVII century.

2. Affordable prices. On BRAFA very respectful of novice collectors and art lovers. There is no price snobbery. With a budget of 2 000 euros, you will be able to find, for example, graphics, or product of China. The bulk of the work on the stands will be in the range 5 000-30 000 EUR. Thus there will be items that cost between one hundred thousand to ten million euros.

3. A high level of protection against counterfeiting and strong restoration. BRAFA takes very responsibly to issues of authenticity represented at the fair items. In the fair Advisory Council consists of about 100 independent experts from around the world — on a few people for each area of the arts. Thus, all subjects exhibited galleries, otsmatrivat several specialists. Two days before the Vernissage, access to the stands is only the Expert Council. At this time, all items that are questionable, at the direction of experts removed from exposure and locked in a separate room. Some of the work, the experts may request additional documents or ask to rewrite the attribution. Besides the authenticity, the experts pay attention to the level of restoration and quality of items. If they believe a thing strongly "perestavnoj" or a weak and uninteresting for potential buyers, then it too can be removed from the exhibition.

4. On the stands of the Brussels fair is traditionally offered works of Russian artists abroad, appreciated by not only our compatriots, but also European buyers. And with the increase of BRAFA in the number of Russian buyers from year to year and offer. This year it will be possible to see works of Chagall, Polyakova, Lipschitz, Zadkine, Lanskoy and Natalia Goncharova, as well as objects of art belonging to the Royal family.

5. The right to exhibit will receive only the best galleries. Among the 137 participants in this year's — strongest galleries from 17 countries. Serious waiting list of galleries from all over the world allows you to choose the best. The main selection criterion is the quality of the exhibits, but important and specialty galleries. BRAFA from year to year tries to provide the maximum number of areas of art and balance in each of them. Taken into account and the location of the party: one of two equal candidates the chances of a representative of a country which is either not enough, or not represented at the fair.

6. There is a program of lectures BRAFA Art Talks. To date, no self-respecting art fair passes without a framework programme of lectures and round tables. BRAFA is no exception. Daily at 16:00, at the venue of the fair are lectures by leading experts, curators and collectors from around the world. Some lectures are video-taped and laid out on the web-сайт fair. With this year's programme can be found here: brafa.be/brafa-art-talks.

7. Brussels today is increasingly seen as the new European capital of art. In addition to world-famous museums, which keep the heritage of old masters and eternal values ar-нуво, in Brussels, with enviable frequency appear new private art-фонды and space. Major galleries and auction houses creating their offices here. From the capital of Belgium, you can plan a trip to Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent or in the region of Wallonia. Some of the recommendations you can find here: issuu.com.

8. Despite the fact that the fair is visited by over 55,000 people, renting a hotel room will not be difficult and not very expensive, so as of January we have low tourist season and hotels are not crowded. And offers BRAFA in addition, there are special offers: BRAFA enters into special agreements with the hotels Plaza and Le Amigo (brafa.be/hotels).

9. Brussels — is a gastronomic Paradise. As the Belgians say, we eat with the Paris quality and Russian quantity. In Brussels there are both Michelin-starred restaurants and a large selection of Brasserie. Some of the recommendations can be viewed here: brafa.be/restaurants.

10. Brussels — is one of the most convenient transport interchanges in Europe. Brussels airport is conveniently located just minutes from the city and serves a large number of carriers. BRAFA special agreements with transport companies Brussels Airlines and Thalys (the network of routes of high-speed trains Thalys covers the main European destinations) will provide fair additional facilities (brafa.be/access).

Other practical information can be found on the website: www.brafa.ru.