The 11th Annual Boston International Fine Art Show (BIFAS) takes place Thursday - Sunday, November 15-18, 2007 at The Cyclorama at The Boston Center for The Arts (BCA). BIFAS is the only art fair of its kind in New England, and features 40 outstanding galleries from the United States and Europe, offering both traditional and contemporary fine art. Close 4,000 people attend the show, which saw sales estimated in excess of $2 million last year, with prices for original works of fine art ranging from a few hundred dollars to six and seven figures.

A Gala Preview opens the show on Thursday, November 15, from 5:30pm to 9:30pm, with all proceeds benefiting the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc. which operates three of the most beloved musical institutions in the world: the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, and Tanglewood. Attendees enjoy fine food and wine, festive music, and of course first choice of a dazzling array of more than 3,000 works of art. Gala Tickets are $100 and $250, available through the BSO Box Office at 617-266-1200 or purchase online at bso.org/bifas.

Friday “New Collectors’ Night” from 6:00-9:00pm includes a “Meet the Artists” reception and guest speakers. At 6:15pm, Joshua Rose, Editor, American Art Collector; and at 7:15pm, Peter Trippi, Editor, Fine Art Connoisseur magazine, present “Editor’s Choice” commentaries and insights into selected works on view at the show. The Friday evening program is $20 per person and available online through Boston Event Guide.

Weekend Show Hours are Friday, Nov. 16, 1:00pm–9:00pm; Saturday, Nov. 17, 11:00am-8:00pm; and Sunday, Nov. 18, 11:00am–5:00pm. Admission at the door is $12, with children under 12 free. Saturday and Sunday, special guest speakers to be announced, free with admission. The Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts is located at 539 Tremont Street in Boston’s South End. For information call 617-363-0405 or visit the show website.

A number of prestigious galleries return to the show again this year, such as Avery Galleries (PA), Birnam Wood Galleries (NY), Cooley Gallery (CT), Galerie Rienzo (NY), Gladwell & Company (London), Questroyal Fine Art (NY), Martha Richardson Fine Art (MA), Spanierman Gallery (NY), Vose Galleries (MA,) and others. The show also welcomes selected new galleries including Adelaide Fine Art (CT), Newman Galleries (PA), Port ‘N Starboard Gallery (ME), and Iris Gallery (MA), specializing in photography. In the spirit of BIFAS, emerging and established contemporary artists are exhibited side-by-side with historical masters, presented by galleries such as Arcadia Fine Arts (NY), Brigham Galleries (MA), Flow of Art (CT), Gallery 1401 (TN), Powers Gallery (MA), Principle Gallery (VA), Tree’s Place Gallery (MA), Wynne/Falconer Gallery (MA), and others.

The show is supported by a large Honorary Committee which includes several museum directors and curators including Thomas Lentz, Director, Harvard Art Museums; Malcolm Rogers, Director, MFA Boston; Michael Rush, Rose Art Museum; and James A. Welu, Director, Worcester Art Museum. The Honorary Committee also includes Mayor Thomas Menino, Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart, fashion designer Alfred Fiandaca, arts and entertainment reporter Joyce Kulhawik, and numerous other notable Bostonians from all walks of life.

“We are fortunate to have such an outstanding Honorary Committee for the show,” comments Tony Fusco. “Their support ensures that art collectors and patrons of the arts are encouraged to attend what has become an important annual event for Boston, putting us on the map with other art fairs around the country. We are proud to be entering our second decade of producing the fair.”

The Cyclorama is a unique venue with a large circular rotunda, and the perfect location for an art fair. This historic structure, built shortly after the Civil War to house a panorama of the Battle of Gettysburg, is in the heart of the BCA complex that today boasts four theatres, a gallery, Boston Ballet School, 50 artist studios and other facilities. There are more than a dozen “hot” restaurants within a five-minute walk, making it a focal point for cultural life in the city, and a new jazz cafe, “The Beehive” opened in the basement of the Cyclorama this spring.

Posted: 10|20|07 at 9:51 am. Filed under: Fine Art.