ARTE FIERA 2019 | Success of sales, attendance and critical acclaim

Lightbox 06.02.2019 ARTE FIERA   Arte Fiera 2019, Aleksander Velišček, Vigipirates, gallery MLZ Art Dep, photo by Laura Perogi The 43rd edition of Arte Fiera, the first under the guidance of new artistic director Simone Menegoi, has been deemed a resounding success as it concluded today in Bologna. Simone Menegoi concluded the final day of the Fair declaring: "Assuming the direction of Italy's longest running fair was a genuine challenge. Judging by the reactions of the galleries, collectors, the public and the press, in this first edition we can claim to have succeeded. We will get back to work on the preparations of Arte Fiera 2020 with the faith and determination that follow on from such a happy debut." The five days of the modern and contemporary art fair in Bologna, including the preview on 31 January, enjoyed brilliant results, for a fair that focused on its Italian identity but with international-quality galleries, and that chose brand new criteria for participation: the 141 galleries - divided into Main Section (128 exhibitors) and Photography and Moving Images (18 exhibitors) - were invited to present a limited number of artists. This decision was rewarded by the response of the exhibitors with a third of the galleries choosing to present monographic stands and by the excellent response from the markets and success with the public with more than 50,000 visitors attending. Highly appreciated was the exhibition Solo figura e sfondo, curated by Davide Ferri, who brought together for the very first time works from the public and private institutional collections in Bologna and the Emilia-Romagna Region. A source of notable curiosity was the programme of actions curated by Silvia Fanti, Oplà. Performing activities, with interventions by the Italian artists Alex Cecchetti, Cristian Chironi, Cesare Pietroiusti and Nico Vascellari. Almost 1000 children, young people and adults were among those to take part in the educational workshops (for the first time at Arte Fiera) micro//macro, linked to the theme "Arte and Science" by the Fondazione Golinelli Also attracting keen and numerous audiences were the talks organised by the magazine Flash Art, a content partner of Arte Fiera. Concluding the renewed public programme was the brand new Service Centre, the venue for Hic et Nunc,a lounge-installation created by the artist Flavio Favelli. The heartfelt tribute to Franco Bartoli and Pasquale Ribuffo, directors of the Galleria de' Foscherari in Bologna, to which pavilion 26 was dedicated with a selection of archival photographs, catalogues, publication and objects, was received with warmth and appreciation. Six important awards were presented this year: The Mediolanum Award for Painting was won by Nazzarena Poli Maramotti with the work Dopo la Tempesta, 2017, presented by the gallery A+B (Brescia). The first Annamaria and Antonio Maccaferri Prize for Photography was won by Virginia Zanetti, with the work I Pilastri della Terra, 2019, presented by the gallery Traffic (Bergamo). The second prize went to Takashi Homma, with the work Mushroom from the forest #1, 2011, presented by the gallery Viasaterna (Milan), and to Emilio Vavarella, with the work The Google Trilogy – 1. Report a problem, 2012, presented by Gallleria più (Bologna). The Arte e Progetto, Jacobacci & Partners Award was won by Bernd Ribbeck  with the work Untitled, 2018, presented by the gallery Norma Mangione (Turin). The #ContemporaryYoung Award went to Alberto Scodro, with the work Santa Maria, 2017, presented by the gallery Car Drde (Bologna). The ANGAMC Career Award for Lifetime Achievement was won by the gallery owner, the late Pasquale Ribuffo. The Premio Rotary Bologna Valle del Samoggia Award was won by the gallery AF of Bologna, the Rotaract Bologna Award and the Andrea Sapone Special Award were won by the artist Sergia Avveduti. More than 1000 accredited journalists from all over the world provided national and international reports on the proposals and events of the new artistic direction of Arte Fiera. Many media partnerships were also established with publications from the sector and journalists hosted in Bologna from the day of the Vernissage on Thursday 31 January. Success was also confirmed online by more than 200,000 visits to the website, more than 56,000 accesses over the five days of the event with peaks of over 18,000 visits a day. What's more an increase in Social Media followers: the Facebook fan base reached 50.000 users, 10.000 followers on Twitter and more than 15.000 on Instagram. A large influx of visitors enjoyed ART CITY White Night on 2 February with the extraordinary opening of galleries, independent exhibition spaces, historic palazzi, shops and other establishments open to the public. Further information available on: www.artefiera.it Download full press release here.  Contacts Arte Fiera – Press office Lightbox Elena Pardini, elena@lightboxgroup.net, +39 348 3399463 Teresa Sartore, teresa@lightboxgroup.net, +39 349 6609573 Alessandra Bellomo, alessandra@lightboxgroup.net, +39 3331833446 tel. +39 041 2411265 Product Communication and Event Manager Isabella Bonvicini Isabella.bonvicini@bolognafiere.it tel. +39 051 282920 BolognaFiere – Press office Gregory Picco Gregory.picco@bolognafiere.it tel. +39 051 282862   Lightbox Srl Art Publishing and Communication Cannaregio 3527, 30121, Venice (VE), Italy (+39) 041 2411265 press@lightboxgroup.net lightboxgroup.net View this email in your browser Copyright © Lightbox, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences. Can't take this anymore? We get it. Here's your link to unsubscribe from this list.