Alexandrina International Book Fair realizes a dream long conceived by Alexandrian intellectuals. This dream came true right after the inauguration of the BA in 2002, by setting out an international book fair: the Alexandrina International Book Fair. The Book Fair has vigorously succeeded in drawing attention to the city of Alexandria and its intellectual figures. It has also created a vibrant cultural stir that increases year by year with the growing number of participants whether publishing houses from all parts of the world, or intellectual celebrities who are keen on being part of the Book Fair cultural program. A section selling old and used books (Sour el-Azbakeya) has been added as part of the Fair to cater for young people’s needs to find books that are relatively inexpensive. This section receives a large number of visitors, both young and old, seeking rare and out of print books. The Fair invites one country every year as its guest of honor, highlighting its culture and heritage, as well as its key intellectuals and thinkers.
The BA Arts Center has organized the First Round of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina International Biennale for Miniature Graphics from 9 December 2009 to 25 January 2010. The call for participation was widely welcomed by artists from all over the word. The First Round of the Biennale features approximately 500 miniature prints by 120 artists from 40 countries. The Biennale is an amazing display of technical, aesthetic and symbolic innovations. Being an international event, styles ranging from amazing realism to reductionism, and from minimalism to abstraction are all included. At the end of the event, each artist will donate 3 miniature prints to the BA art collection, and a catalog will be printed featuring all art pieces.
The Agenda exhibition coincides with another important artistic gathering held at the BA, the annual Creative Forum for Independent Theater Groups from Europe and the Mediterranean. The Agenda 2009 edition witnessed an impressive participation from artists, exhibiting more than 600 art pieces. The works of artists, representing different generations, turned the event into a panoramic scene of methods, techniques and motifs of expression. Moreover, artists are encouraged to sell their artworks for reasonable prices to make art available to a wider public. The Exhibits reflect diversity and merge creativity with imagination.
After its success in 2006 with the participation of 12 participant artists from 3 countries, the Alexandria International Symposium for Sculpture in Natural Materials is held as an annual event using a different material every year. The Symposium round in 2007 was dedicated to marble gathering 13 artists from 3 countries. In 2008, 15 artists from 5 countries used wood for sculpture. As for the Symposium round in 2009, 22 artists from 6 countries worked on sculptural mosaics producing 23 art pieces. The event is marked by a 15-day workshop, where artists work together closely to produce their works, with the help of student volunteers and the visual arts team at the Arts Center. The workshop is concluded with a spectacular exhibition at the BA Plaza featuring the symposium works. At the end of the exhibition period , all art works are added to the fast growing permanent art collection at the BA and are exhibited all around the premises. To date, the four symposium rounds produced 63 art works.