Foreign newspapers begin to write about it and Bologna begins to believe in it: la turrita is a city of art, indeed in 2014 it becomes one of the capitals of art, thanks to the 38th edition of ArteFiera which opens its doors on Friday 24 January and one of the most awaited exhibitions of the year, "The girl with a pearl earring - the myth of the Golden Age, from Vermeer to Rembrandt", scheduled from 8 February to 25 May, already visible by reservation at the end of the month. These are two events around which the city is working feverishly, calibrating transport, services and hospitality.
ArteFiera is a point of reference for the national and international art market and continues to grow and take on new challenges. In the 2014 edition there are 172 gallery owners, with a record increase of 27% compared to last year. The goal is to attract more and more visitors (42 in 2013) and above all more and more collectors. From a commercial point of view, the event wants to remain what it has always been: a large market exhibition where you buy and sell, a showcase for gallery owners, especially Italians, gathered under one roof. In this edition, the artistic directors Claudio Spadoni and Giorgio Verzotti have decided to introduce, in a context that has always favored the contemporary, also the modern and in particular the Italian late 800th century. Ten galleries were called to appeal "which represent – they claim – the best in this area". To meet those who want to put some art at home, but don't have enough resources, the current management also wanted to give space to photography, entrusting its care to MIA Fair. Finally Focus on Eastern Europe and young people. Over 2000 works on display and for sale in 10 square meters of space, 1100 artists represented. The president of the Fair, Duccio Campagnoli, also confirms that in September the format will move to China, to Shanghai. “We are the only ones with Basel – he says – to have more offices in the world”.
In addition to the market exhibition, ArteFiera is a real cultural event for the entire city which, for a week, is transformed "into a metropolitan museum - says Lorenzo Sassoli de' Bianchi, president of Mambo, a museum of modern art - by this I mean that Bologna does, in the urban area, what the Metropolitan of New York does in a museum, that is, it accompanies the visitor on a journey through art through the centuries”. All the museums of the capital, from the archaeological one to the music one, are involved, but also the galleries, restaurants, shops, even private homes, for exhibitions, parties, cultural and culinary itineraries. The "Art City" package is very full and contains about forty proposals, for which the Municipality has not provided extraordinary funds, but has made at least one map available. "The dish is so rich - says Sassoli - that visitors always have the feeling of missing out on something and in the end it's true, but it's beautiful like this". Among the proposals we point out two: the exhibition of photographs "Industrial worlds 014", at the Mast, the new space offered to the city by Isabella Seragnoli (GD) and "The empty pedestal - Ghosts from Eastern Europe", at the archaeological museum with over 100 works by artists discovered in the post-Soviet era and lent by collectors. Saturday 25 is dedicated to the Notte Bianca, with around a hundred events that will enliven the city after the gates of the Fair close.
Archived this chapter on January 31 opens the one dedicated to Vermeer and the masterpieces of the Golden Age of the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague. About 70 tickets have already been sold in presale for an exhibition that officially starts on 8 February. From the 31st, however, exclusive visits can be made, these are proposals dedicated to an elite public ready to spend a little more to guarantee themselves the privilege of a guided tour by the curator and a good dinner in a magical context, such as the exhibition of Palazzo Fava. On the Linea d'ombra website, which organized the event in collaboration with the Carisbo Foundation and the Genus Bononiae museum circuit, there are all the possibilities, from the common ones to the super chic ones. For those who want to linger a little longer in front of the "Girl with a turban", who after Bologna will return to The Hague never to leave again, there are 6 days, from 31 January to 5 February, from 10 to 17, at the price of 40 euros; in the same period the visit, with buffet, from 19 to 21,20 pm costs 80 euros per person. There is no more room for the tour with the curator Marco Goldin and the subsequent dinner at the price of 150 euros per person (the proceeds will be donated to charity), proving that luxury is always anti-cyclical. However, the opportunity to see an icon of art is within everyone's reach: on sale there are packages with overnight stay in the city and a ticket for the exhibition that do not exceed 50 euros. From 8 February to 25 May the ticket with reservation costs 13 euros (12 euros without reservation); with guided tour 21 euros; with a visit to the 7 locations of Genus Bononiae 18 euros.
