Countdown to the Marbella Art Festival
Yesterday was the press conference for the International Art Festival of Marbella which is opening on Thursday and will be open for the public from Friday at 4.30. This is going to be an amazing event featuring over 60 artists lining Marbella’s Avenida del Mar plus an amazing programme of entertainment. At the press conference the Councillor for Tourism Jose Luis Hernandez confirmed the Town Hall’s belief in the festival as highly important for the promotion of Marbella as a cultural destination and its ability to bring together so many nationalities.
President Caroline Bowley commented, “Arte Marbella brings visitors from all around the world to Marbella and promotes the town as a cultural destination, broadening its appeal. It allows people of all ages, nationalities and interests to experience art outside the gallery and makes it affordable for people to buy. We believe that bringing art to the people is a really important responsibility and so many people get to experience these works who would not visit a gallery.
This year, our festival is welcoming Georgian artists and honoured by the presence of mayor and vice mayor of Batumi, Georgia- Mrs Natalia Surguladze, cultural capital of the Black Sea Coast. This continues the strong relationship between Marbella and Batumi which has been built through art and offers many opportunities for cross promotion and a new source of tourism and revenue for the town. Last year saw the first InterArt Batumi Art Festival which Arte Marbella collaborated in. An official delegation from Marbella, organised by the Georgian Chamber of Commerce in Andalucia were invited by Batumi to attend, and enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of the Georgian people This year InterArt Batumi Art Festival will be held from 1-3 September followed by an Art & Wine Tour of Georgia. We welcome many artists of over 20 different nationalities including Turkey who are exhibiting for the first time.
We all know that it is a difficult time for everyone financially, but an event such as this should be a focus as cultural importance as it draws visitors and residents and can be highly profitable. Liverpool in the UK was named City of Culture for one year in 2008. As a result they received 15million visitors a 30% rise a 800million pounds ( this is close to a billion euros) which was a boost to the region’s economy. We believe that the art festival is vital in presenting Marbella as a cultural destination and we need businesses and politicians to support us in making the festival bigger and better and creating other cultural events.”
To find out more about the festival visit www.artemarbella.com