Now some people may ask: "TEFAF? What's that?" It is The European Fine Art Fair, which is hosted annually at the MECC and currently drawing thousands of art lovers from all over the world. With an entrance fee of €55, though, it's a no-go area for many students. So to get an idea of what this high-class event is about, you have little choice but to resort to second-hand information.
While most people I asked about TEFAF this past week informed me that "Brad Pitt was here for it last year", the art itself seems to be the most important celebrity at the fair. "It's just mind boggling when you stand in front of a Rembrandt, which you have been reading about in some book and which is virtually unaffordable", says Kromholz, one of the happy few who has been going to the TEFAF every year since she was very young. "My parents are artists themselves; some of their paintings have been sold at TEFAF. So that has been a nice opportunity to teach me about art appreciation."
UCM student Steffie van Kuppevelt has also been to TEFAF, because she worked there last year. "I never really went inside though, sadly - I only got to check the tickets of those who did." So what kinds of people go there? "Mostly high-society." The opening night in particular is a popular event; no tickets are sold, but galleries and art collectors invite their most promising customers for a meet-and-greet, to strike the most important deals of the week or to show off their most prized possessions. This is also why the common Maastricht citizen has little interest in the fair. Only restaurants and certain shops are glad to have a few more high-paying customers around.
"The art trade is very important", says Kromholz. "It makes art accessible to the public." Yet how accessible is it really, if only the rich and famous can afford to go and see it? And what exactly do you get to see at TEFAF, anyway? This year Kromholz will go again, once as part of an art class, and once with her parents. Van Kuppevelt, however, did not get a job at TEFAF this year. And she is not thinking of going, either. "If they made a day for students and normal people with a lower entry fee, I'd consider it. But I'm not interested enough to pay €55 for a fair where I can't afford to buy anything anyway."