Less market more art. This could be the motto of the 37th edition of ArteFiera, which will be held in Bologna from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th January. For the occasion, the whole city becomes a sort of open-air museum, with a shuttle that transports tourists and citizens free of charge to places of significance for the exhibition-market and for the capital. The Bologna Fair also announces that, at the end of the event, it will invest one hundred thousand euros in the purchase of works by young artists present.
All the city's institutions have mobilized to make the appointment, with the aim of keeping museums open, hosting exhibitions in unusual places (such as De Chirico among the ancient books of the Stabat Mater) and involving the Film Library. A flourishing of initiatives grouped under the name of "Art city", aimed at compensating for a significant drop in exhibiting galleries, which went from 150 last year to 135 at this edition.
“2012 was a very heavy year for Italian gallery owners – observes Claudio Spadoni, curator of ArteFiera together with Giorgio Verzotti – about forty have closed shop and many historical friends will be missing because, they say, 'they are no longer able to support the costs of the exhibition spaces'. Twenty thousand euros are enough for a decent stand, but even these seem too much when business drops dramatically. On the other hand, the economic phase is particularly critical and the art market in Italy is suffering a lot. But we also had to say many nos to those who wanted to be there, especially foreigners with works that didn't live up to our expectations”.
Of the 135 galleries present, 19 have been on the market for less than 5 years and bring young artists with works worth up to ten thousand euros. Fifteen foreign galleries, 15 galleries arriving in Bologna for the first time.
In the selection, ArteFiera once again favors quality over quantity and draws up a cultural project based on the strength of Italian spirit in modern and contemporary art. From Boccioni to Fontana, from De Chirico to Guttuso, from Morandi to Marino Marini, the journey to the top of art is guaranteed and the proposal is very broad, because it includes 1100 artists (including non-Italians) and around fifty events. To enhance this heritage, the curators have divided the works into a series of exhibitions, placing paintings, sculptures and installations in particularly fascinating places in the city. Collector visitors will thus have the opportunity to take a cultural journey, but also to buy something, wallets permitting: in fact, every ArteFiera painting is, as always, for sale and the collector will be able to contact the reference gallery even if the work is inserted in a museum context.
The Bologna Fair is betting much more on this edition than in the past, after having changed the artistic direction and given a less elitist course to the events. The VIP invitations remain, because the great collectors are the beating heart of the sector, but the appointment is open to everyone, citizens and, hopefully, tourists. The Fair ticket alone opens any door, from the Ustica museum to the exhibitions, while the free shuttle is the signal of a city that wants to say something sinister even on this occasion.
To support art, the Bologna Fair has also set up this fund for the first time for the acquisition of works by young people and has allocated one hundred thousand euros. "We want to set a good example - says the president Duccio Campagnoli - and seek the adhesion of other institutions, collectors, public and private funds".
The attention to young people is confirmed in this edition with the Euromobil under 30 prize and the Furla prize, which will be awarded at the Bastardini Hospital, a splendid building in the central Via D'Azeglio that the Province has restored and put up for sale months ago , but which has not yet found a buyer.
White night confirmed for Saturday evening, with everything open; seven conferences on the calendar called "conversations", all focused on the theme "Looking to the future". Paint is Thursday night. As an aperitif, in the morning, the largest anthology ever dedicated to the photographer Nino Migliori opens at Palazzo Fava.
