It was the only fair missing to allow for a world tour of art without ever leaving Paris. After Asia Now, AKAA (Also Known as Africa) and Menart, focusing on the Middle East, comes Mira, for Latin American art. It will take place from 18-22 September in the Maison de l’Amérique Latine, a Latin American cultural and diplomatic institution housed in two mansions in the city’s seventh arrondissement.”Mira means ‘look’ in Spanish. It’s a way of inviting people to look at what’s happening elsewhere in the world,” says Manuela Rayo, the Paris-based, Colombian-born director of the fair. She currently serves as the head of external relations at the RMN-Grand Palais and has overseen the organisation of recent fairs held at the Grand Palais Éphémère. She has also worked at the festival Barcú in Bogotá.”Paris is increasingly asserting itself as the capital of contemporary art and culture, strengthened by the arrival of galleries such as Mendes Wood DM,” she says. “The time had come to fill an empty space, that of the Latin American scene.” “We chose September, a slightly quieter time, to avoid being swamped by the hustle and bustle of October in Paris,” Rayo says. The date also places Mira “six months after Arco Madrid, which is devoted in part to Latin art. But this scene needs to be exported elsewhere too”. With around 20 exhibitors, this “boutique fair” will bring together galleries from Latin America, some with branches in Europe and others already established in Paris. Galleries from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru and Colombia have already confirmed their participation, with several of them exhibiting at Art Basel Miami Beach or Untitled Miami. “Latin America represents a huge region and a very rich culture—photography, sculpture, painting. A scene marked by many political or post-colonial issues, by a commitment to history, among other things. It needs to be shown more,” Rayo says. She intends to give the artists exhibited at the fair “access to European collectors”. To reduce the exhibition’s carbon footprint, a special logistics plan is currently under consideration, via a partnership to transport works by boat from the Americas.
