30th edition of Artissima closes with 34,000 visitors

The thirtieth edition of Artissima, the Turin fair dedicated tocontemporary art directed for the second year by Luigi Fassi, ended by surpassing the attendance figures of the last editions: in fact, 34,000 visitors walked through the spaces of Turin’sOval Lingotto from November 2 to 5 (the first one reserved for insiders, the next three open to the public). The 2023 edition, the second under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture, saw the fair’s four established sections - Main Section, New Entries, Monologue/Dialogue and Art Spaces & Editions - and the three curated sections - Drawings, curated by Irina Zucca Alessandrelli, Present Future, curated by Maurin Dietrich and Saim Demircan, and Back to the Future, curated by Defne Ayas and Francesco Manacorda - also hosted on the digital platform Artissima Voice Over, created with the support of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo.

The Theme of the 30th edition, Relations of Care, was inspired by a concept developed in a recent essay by Brazilian anthropologist Renzo Taddei, professor of Anthropology at the Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo in Brazil. Dedicated to formulating a hypothesis for overcoming the crises of our time by taking inspiration from indigenous Amazonian thought, the essay focuses attention on the care of the environment and surrounding nature as fundamental elements to survival and the first step in reconnecting with other forms of knowledge and coexistence, thus generating new possible relationships of care.

“We close this 30th edition with the certainty of a very positive result that has reverberated from the Oval to the entire city,” said Luigi Fassi. “We are happy to have contributed to bringing new energy, resources, relationships, ideas and proposals to the contemporary art world and to have woven with all the contemporary art institutions in the city positive and fruitful relationships, with dedicated projects that in fact drew a real network, inside and outside the fair. I am grateful to all that contributed to writing the success of this edition, which we imagined as a sort of time machine capable of imparting further momentum toward the future: we focused on questions, trying to respond to the urgencies of our present, building bridges and relationships, expanding the boundaries of the gaze. Artissima carries within itself the talent of the laboratory of growth and development for the art of our time and is the ideal crossroads for all its protagonists. Our goal has always been to produce a fair that draws strength from the territory in which it is located and that is at the same time capable of dialoguing with the world.”

Artissima 2023 saw for the fourth year the confirmation of Intesa Sanpaolo as Main Partner of the event. 181 galleries, including 39 exhibiting for the first time; 33 countries represented at the fair; 68 monographic projects; 11 prizes, awards and supports, plus 2 funds awarded. The seven sections at the fair, which include the three curated by international curatorial boards, brought about 1,500 works to the public’s attention. More than seven hundred collectors and curators Artissima committed to host during the days of the fair, 49% of whom were foreign and 51% Italian, surpassing the 2022 result. Specifically, the collectors hosted this year come from thirty different countries: Saudi Arabia / Australia / Austria / Belgium / Brazil / Canada / China / Denmark / France / Germany / Greece / Hong Kong / Italy / Israel / Luxembourg / Monaco / Norway / Netherlands / Peru / Poland / Portugal / United Kingdom / Romania / Spain / Singapore / United States of America / Sweden / Switzerland / Ukraine / Hungary.

As of early 2023, the fair has reached more than 1,600 new collectors of whom 900 international and 700 Italian, confirming it as an important event on the international art scene. Artissima in total involved more than 12,000 art world personalities, including collectors, curators, museum directors and other art professionals.

The fair also welcomed 34 museum patron delegations from some of the most important institutions, including: MUDAM Luxembourg (Luxembourg), IACCCA - The International Association of Corporate Collections of Contemporary Art (Worldwide), Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture (Kazakhstan), Amici della Triennale (Italy), Salzburger Kunstverein (Austria), Club GAMeC (Italy), Friends of Zacheta (Poland), Kunstverein München (Germany), KW Institute for Contemporary Art - Berlin (Germany), Members of Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana (Italy), Club Matador (Spain), Les Amis du Centre d’art Contemporain Genève (Switzerland), Spirit Now London (UK), ACACIA (Italy), Association des Amis des Beaux-Arts de Paris (France), Benefactors of MART (Italy), Friends of MAXXI (Italy), Friends of CAMERA (Italy); Friends of Madre (Italy), Grazer Kunstverain (Germany), Friends of Palazzo Strozzi (Italy), Les Amis du FRAC SUD (France), Friends of Pinacoteca Agnelli (Italy), Les Amis du MAMAC (France), Young Collectors Association (Italy), Society of Friends of Fine Arts Wien (Austria), Museion Private Founders (Italy), Sotheby’s Preferred (Worldwide), Phileas Members (Austria), Huntress of art Experiences (Spain), Members of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (Italy), Young Collectors Circle (Netherlands), Society of Friends of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (Poland), Soho House (Worldwide), ADIAF Association for the international diffusion of French art (France), Art Club (Switzerland), Amigos Del MALI (Peru).

At the fair, the dialogue with main partner Intesa Sanpaolo took the form of the exhibition of a body of photographic works by Luca Locatelli, presented in its own exhibition space inside the Oval as part of the Luca Locatelli exhibition. The Circle. Solutions for a Possible Future running at Gallerie d’Italia - Turin until Feb. 18, 2024.

For the first time, the fair presented New Entries BAR, a project and narrative created with the intention of enhancing the research of the galleries in the New Entries section and their artists within the conceptual platform IDENTITY, supported by the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation. The New Entries BAR, curated by Cripta747, welcomed the fair audience in a dedicated area of the pavilion.

Artissima and Juventus confirmed their collaboration for the fifth consecutive year by renewing Artissima Junior and presenting BE NET, the project by Eugenio Tibaldi (Alba, 1977) that involved young visitors to the fair, aged between 6 and 11, in creating a choral artwork to make participants understand the value of relationship and community, fitting right into the theme of the edition.

Beyond Production, the platform activated in 2021 by Artissima and Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT, proposed Symposium, curated by Ilaria Bonacossa, director of the National Museum of Digital Art - MNAD in Milan: a cycle of studies at the OGR Turin to deepen reflection on the relationship between new technologies, art and society.

The Planetary Curator, conceived and curated by the magazine CURA. and promoted by Jaguar, explored the theme of the 2023 edition of Artissima through a cycle of talks conceived as a single stream of thought and discussion on the theme of curation by bringing into dialogue outstanding personalities in the contemporary art scene. Participants included Brazilian anthropologist Renzo Taddei, Paris-based Fondation Cartier Collections Director Grazia Quaroni, French artist Fabrice Hyber, design curator Domitilla Dardi, the Formafantasma, curator and Head of Ecologies Lucia Pietroiusti, and writer, Radicants founder and Artistic Director of the Gwangju Biennial 2024, Nicolas Bourriaud.

The commitment of Artissima Digital, supported by the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation since 2017, in amplifying the fair experience through the production of digital thematic content and insights on the artissima.art and Artissima Voice Over platforms also continued. The reconfirmation of the AudioGuides promoted by Lauretana to autonomously explore Artissima 2023 was joined by two new unreleased contents in collaboration with important authors from the cultural world. At the fair, the in-depth multimedia cultural magazine Lucy. On Culture in dialogue with Brazilian anthropologist Renzo Taddei explored the many nuances of the theme of the Relations of Care edition.

The academy for young artists MADE IN, established in 2022 thanks to the support of the Turin Chamber of Commerce, presented the second edition and its new partner companies - Dott.Gallina, Guido Gobino Cioccolato, Kristina Ti, Pininfarina Architecture -, inviting visitors to discover the works produced during the first edition in a dedicated booth.

LaCittaDinAmica, an intervention conceived by Jacopo Foggini in dialogue with the company Dott.Gallina, after being presented in Milan during Fuorisalone 2023, welcomed visitors to Artissima with a new labyrinthine pattern installation.

Prizes and awards

Artissima 2023 organized three prizes for artists and galleries, two awards in memory of prominent figures in the art world, six institutional supports to artists and galleries promoted by foundations and institutions, and two funds. The illy Present Future Prize was awarded to Bekhbaatar Enkhtur, presented by Matèria Gallery, Rome. Now in its twenty-third edition and supported by illycaffè since 2001, the prize is awarded to the project considered most interesting in Present Future, the section dedicated to emerging talents.

The VANNI occhiali #artistroom prize was awarded to Elisa Alberti, presented by Krobath Gallery, Vienna. In its third edition, the award launched by the Turin-based VANNI occhiali brand is given to the artist whose work offers an original look at reality, opening unexpected and surprising horizons.

The Tosetti Value Prize for photography, on the other hand, goes to Kiluanji Kia Henda, presented by Fonti Gallery, Naples. In its fourth edition, the award supported by Tosetti Value - II Family office stems from the desire to investigate the relationship between art and economics and is intended for the artist whose photographic work is considered particularly interesting in relation to the socio-historical and economic situation of our globalized world.

Matteo Viglietta Award by Collezione La Gaia was awarded to Igor Grubić, presented by Laveronica Gallery, Modica. In its second edition, the award is sponsored by Collezione La Gaia and is designed to commemorate Matteo Viglietta, a great and passionate collector, who had a particularly strong connection with Artissima from the very beginning. The acquisition institutionalizes a practice initiated and established by Viglietta, who each year used to choose a work that had some relevance to the materials and tools sold by his company, Viglietta Matteo spa.

Carol Rama Prize by Fondazione Sardi per l’Arte to Marwa Arsanios, presented by mor charpentier gallery, Paris, Bogota. The jury also decided to extend a special mention to Fatos Irwen, represented by Zilberman Gallery, Istanbul, Berlin. The award, sponsored by the Fondazione Sardi per l’Arte, is for the artist who interprets, through her research and work, the ideal of non-conventional female creativity and artistic freedom that Carol Rama embodied and transmitted through her works and personality.

Diana Bracco Prize - Women Entrepreneurs in Art awarded to Carla Chiarchiaro, who runs the ADA Gallery, Rome. In its first edition, the award, promoted by the Bracco Foundation in collaboration with the Roberto de Silva and Diana Bracco Foundation of Milan, is for the emerging female gallery owner, Italian or foreign, whose entrepreneurial history manifests a significant attention turned to research and artistic quality.

Pista 500 by Pinacoteca Agnelli Prize awarded to Chalisée Naamani, presented by Ciaccia Levi Gallery, Paris, Milan. In its first edition, the award was created in collaboration with Pinacoteca Agnelli to give the selected artist the opportunity to create a work on the permanent billboard of the Pista 500, a site-specific art installation project on the former FIAT car test track, now a spectacular scenic walkway.

OGR Award given to Lawrence Abu Hamdan and Rebecca Moccia, respectively of the galleries mor charpentier, Paris, Bogota, and Mazzoleni, London, Turin. The award, promoted by the Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT, has changed form this year by supporting with two grants of 5,000 euros each the search for two artists who express in their work a special aptitude for dialoguing or confronting new technologies.

Prize “with eyes closed...” by Fondazione Merz awarded to Marwa Arsanios, presented by mor charpentier gallery, Paris, Bogota. Born from the collaboration between Artissima and Fondazione Merz and now in its third edition, the award offers the winning artist the opportunity to participate in a residency in Sicily, the outcomes of which are presented as part of the cultural programming of ZACentrale at Cantieri Culturali alla Zisa in Palermo.

ISOLA SICILIA by Oelle Foundation Prize awarded to Caroline Ricca Lee. HOA Gallery, Sao Paulo, represents the artist. The prize, now in its second edition and promoted by the Oelle Foundation, offers the artist the opportunity to participate in an artistic residency in Aci Castello, in the province of Catania, during which she can work on the concept Sicily, Island among Islands.

Ettore and Ines Fico Prize by MEF - Museo Ettore Fico of Turin awarded to Francesca Ferreri and Samuel Nnorom, presented respectively by Peola Simondi Gallery, Turin, and Primo Marella, Milan, Lugano. The prize, promoted by the MEF - Museo Ettore Fico, aims to enhance the work of young artists through an acquisition. Among the artists presented at the fair, the winners stand out for their creative poetics and research at the international level.

Image: Artissima 2023 © Photo Credits: Perottino-Piva-Peirone / Artissima 2023

30th edition of Artissima closes with 34,000 visitors

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