Presented the 2018 edition of Arte Fiera in Bologna

The 2018 edition of Arte Fiera in Bologna, number 42 of the historic international contemporary art fair, the longest running in Italy, has been officially presented. There are many new features, as we had already told you in this article. The artistic direction, for the second year in a row, has been entrusted to Angela Vettese, who declares, “Arte Fiera wants to propose itself as an expression of a city that has always been cultured, not enslaved, but rather nourished in its vocation for knowledge, by the sense of cheerful conviviality that distinguishes it. In the hope that even the mercantile aspect, which is still central to an exhibition event, will reflect the city’s vitality and its sense of excellence.” Arte Fiera will take place Feb. 2-5.

This year, the Main section will host the Modernity subsection, with a concept that focuses entirely on current events, with booths presenting solo shows by current or already historicized contemporary artists (such as Marino Marini and Maria Lai). The Solo Show section will include a series of monographic exhibitions by different artists, while all about photography will be Photo, curated by Andrea Pertoldeo, which intends to bring into dialogue the different tensions of contemporary photography by “mixing and remixing different ways of looking at the world with the certainty that finally art and photography are now one,” as the presentation states. Again, the Nueva vista section, curated by Simone Frangi, intends “to focus, within a commercial fair, on the balance point between discursiveness and saleability of emerging artistic research, between critical process and formalization, between design engagement in the social and political sphere and sustainability, between content and urgency of artistic practices and consequences,” and finally, the last section, Printville, will be a space entirely dedicated to independent publishing activities.

Among the most interesting highlights will be the international conference entitled Tra mostra e fiera: entre chien et loup, from February 2 to 3: this will be the most extensive in-depth moment of Arte Fiera and is organized by the IUAV University of Venice with the sponsorship of the University of Bologna. The conference will be all about the relationship between art and the market, a topic, the presentation says, “to which the academic world has so far devoted little attention, perhaps because of intellectual resistance in bringing the two areas closer together.” There will be three sections of the conference: Fairs and biennials: pair or sisters? curated by Clarissa Ricci (IUAV University of Venice), which will investigate affinities and differences between exhibition fairs and art biennials, Art magazines: privileged observers or instruments of the institution? edited by Camilla Salvaneschi (Aberdeen University (IUAV University of Venice), entirely devoted to the role of art magazines today, and Impermanences: what happens when the work is gone?, edited by Cristina Baldacci (ICI Berlin), which explores how the identity and organization of major periodical exhibitions and fairs have changed since art has become increasingly impermanent and medial.

Attention, too, to the fair’s opening to the city, with the ART CITY poster (exhibitions by Vadim Zakharov, Katerina Zdjelar, Yuri Ancarani, Jacopo Mazzonelli, Erin Shirreff, Luca Pozzi, Hana Lee Erdman, Home Movies + Giuseppe De Mattia, CT, Roberto Pugliese and Alessandra Messali) and several events scattered throughout Bologna. All information on how to visit and programs can be found at www.artefiera.it.

Image: among the pavilions of Arte Fiera 2017.

Presented the 2018 edition of Arte Fiera in Bologna

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