MEET MIRIAM LLOYD-EVANS

Miriam with Abdulnasser Gharem and the 

book they worked on together

Miriam Lloyd-Evans writes for Selections and the Art Paper about contemporary Arab art. Her main occupation, however, is curating art from the Middle East. Working between London and the Gulf, she often partners with galleries in the region and has been instrumental in several landmark exhibitions by emerging Middle Eastern artists in Venice, Berlin, Istanbul, Dubai and London. Miriam recently took up the position of Lead Curator: International Engagement Team (Middle East) at the British Museum, having previously worked with innovative platform Edge of Arabia. She has closely collaborated with well-known Saudi artist Abdulnasser Gharem and edited his monograph. When she's not working the museums, art fairs and auction house circuit, Miriam lets off steam by dancing at parties and sailing around the Mediterranean. 

THE ART PAPER GOES INTERNATIONAL

It was because we launched the first issue of the Art Paper - the art supplement that comes with Selections - in partnership with the Beirut Art Fair, that the focus was initially local, and we looked into the art world here in Lebanon. That was issue #00 - a trial run if you like - and we have now put together our first real issue #01 with a wider point of view.

The Small is Beautiful exhibition at Durub Al Tawaya 

& the Design Souq at Abu Dhabi Art 2013

As a result, Selections editor Kasia Maciejowska was in London this Autumn for Frieze Art Fair, and visited Brussels for a preview of BRAFA (Brussels Antiques and Fine Art Fair), while our contributors Jennifer Hattam in Istanbul and Anya Stafford in Abu Dhabi have written reports from art fairs there. 

Selections editor Kasia with couturier Giambattista 

Valli at Dover Street Market's party for Frieze

Our collector profile will be with Turkish textile magnate Öner Kocabeyoğlu, our curator interview is with young British influencer Nicola Lees, and we'll have exhibition reviews of work by Egyptian, Indian, Cuban and Austrian-American artists who have recently shown in various locations.

Egyptian artist Wael Shawky's Cabaret Crusades

at the Serpentine Gallery, London

This inclusive perspective doesn't mean we're ignoring local talent of course. We review the in-depth Paul Guiragossian retrospective at the Beirut Exhibition Centre, and Mark Hachem's display of collages by Syrian painter Rabee Kiwan.

We'll also be printing a neat list of new art spaces around the globe that have opened in the past year. Look out for the Art Paper with the coming Winter issue of Selections.

MEET OUR FASHION WRITERS

As a publication that takes an international perspective, Selections draws its contributors from far and wide. The magazine's two leading fashion writers Avril Groom and Thomas Rees both hail from London. Beyond their location and their passion for fashion, however, these two sartorial sages are quite different - which we like as they each bring their own point of view on the world of dress.

Avril has many years' experience writing about fashion and luxury for excellent publications of global standing, including the Financial Times How To Spend It magazine. Attending the catwalk shows in Paris, Milan, London and New York, she brings a sophisticated knowledge of the fashion industry and its moods to her seasonal catwalk reviews. Jewellery is also her thing, and Avril visits the major fairs to report on all the latest creations by leading jewellers and watchmakers - a favourite topic with Selections readers.

Thom, meanwhile, spends his days working as a Trends Researcher at LS:N Global, the editorial arm of trend forecasting agency The Future Laboratory. With this insider knowledge he puts together trend reports for Selections each season. Thom studied Fashion at the University of Brighton, so he's a dab hand at designing and styling himself. He knows absolutely everything about menswear and almost absolutely everything about womenswear. Based in the East End, at the heart of London's creative fashion scene, Thom is always in touch with up-and-coming labels and new styling details. We love his fresh eye and sense of humour - and his adorable Italian greyhound called Jelly.

LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL 2013

The editor-in-chief of our interiors magazine for the design store Le Cercle, Anastasia Nysten (above), spends a lot of time in London. Working as a designer herself, both under her own name and for Michael Anastassiades studio, she gets an insider view of the most exciting new design work emerging from the British capital.

These were her top installations at this year's recent London Design Festival:

The Wind Portal by Najla El Zein at the V&A

The Dinner Party by Scholten & Baijings at the V&A

Endless Staircase by Alex de Rijke at Tate Modern

 The Conductor by Faye Toogood at Established & Sons

Anastasia's favourite events included the Sleep by Design presentation by B&B Italia and Meet the Designers with Ligne Roset. For more details pick up a copy of the next issue of Le Cercle, out next month.

OUR FIRST ART PAPER

Alongside the Autumn issue of Selections magazine we published the inaugural issue of our Art Paper to accompany the Beirut Art Fair. We interviewed artists, gallerists and designers for the paper and chatted to key contributors at the fair - these vox pop interviews will be appearing soon on our Selections App. 

One of our favourites was Manuella Guiragossian - always a pleasure to talk to, her illustrations are witty and uplifting, merging her artistic upbringing and her experience in California creating drawings for Disney. Her pictures cheer us up with their charm.