My Art Guides: How did you react when you were first asked to become director of Arte Fiera? Which is the major challenge you are facing?
Simone Menegoi: I would be lying, if I said I was expecting it! In truth, I was taken aback by the proposal, and it took me a while to metabolise. It was a while before we decided to accept the offer: even if I have collaborated with Artissima for the last ten years as curator and author of texts, I had never before contemplated directing a fair. The challenge we face – I speak in the plural, because I work with a very close-knit team, of whom I would like to at least mention Gloria Bartoli, the assistant director – is the inheritance of a forty year history, and to imagine its continuation both in the present and in the future. A great but arduous task: when Arte Fiera opened its doors, back in 1974, it was the only one in Italy (and one of the first in Europe); now it is confronted with at least three other Italian national fairs, and with an almost saturated international calendar of fairs.
My Art Guides: As your position as director is a 3 year assignment, what is your long term vision for the Art Fair?
Simone Menegoi: I imagine a fair that remains steadfast to its Italian identity – a winning factor, especially when Italian art is increasingly appreciated in the world – but without being closed to international points of view. A fair of reference for modern and established contemporary art, whilst being capable of intercepting contemporary trends. It boasts special sections, curated and subjected to a stringent selection, whose proposal is original and attractive for collectors.
My Art Guides: What's new this year and what sets the fair apart from previous editions?
Simone Menegoi: In spite of the extremely limited time with which we had to organise the fair, some notable changes have been made. To mention a few, firstly the choice to limit the number of artists that can be exhibited in each stand: up to a maximum of three for stands up to 64 square metres and no more than six, for larger booths. It is a measure with which we want to encourage galleries to focus only on a select few artists in order to deepen their proposal in this regard. We then redesigned the photography section, entrusting it to the Fantom curatorial platform (Selva Barni, Ilaria Speri, Massimo Torrigiani, Francesco Zanot), which has given it more of a hybrid edge, closer to contemporary art (the section now also includes video). Turning to the public programme, we are preparing the first episode of a series of exhibitions entitled "Courtesy Emilia Romagna": an exploration of the institutional collections in Bologna and the surrounding region from the perspective of a curator, which will change from year to year, this year Davide Ferri has been invited and will present his exhibition titled Solo figura e sfondo, what's more we will launch a collaboration with Flash Art, which is to become our "content partner", in charge of curating the talk programme.
Above image: Simone Menegoi © Pasquale Minopoli
Read the full interview on My Art Guides.
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