ARCOmadrid 2017

Argentina, contemporary art collecting and curatorial exchange
February 22–26, 2017 FERIA DE MADRID
ARCOmadrid

Avda. del Partenón, 5
28042 Madrid
Spain

Standing at the cross-roads between Europe and Latin America, ARCOmadrid—the single most visited art fair in the world—as long established itself as a key nexus in the international art world, as well as one of the premiere international platforms for Latin American art and its market, a role that will be reinforced this year with Argentina as the fair’s featured nation.

This year, in addition to the nearly 200 participating galleries from around the world, ARCOmadrid has invited numerous critics, curators, museum directors, collectors and major art world figures from more than 40 nations to participate in a wide-ranging program of panel discussions, gatherings and professional encounters, while at the same time focusing on the work on view at the fair itself.

For instance, the Professional Meetings, a series of work sessions, are structured so as to offer a unique opportunity for the many museum directors, curators, critics and art world professionals attending ARCOmadrid to discuss projects and debate ideas; João Fernandes, the deputy director of the Reina Sofía Museum, will lead the 6th Meeting of European and Iberoamerican Museums; and the Museum Work Sessions will bring more than 30 museum directors to the fair; Chris Sharp, Stefanie Hessler, Juan Canela and Miguel Amado will moderate a series of panel discussions featuring the fair’s guest curators.

Collecting and collectors are always an essential component of ARCOmadrid. This year’s Forum will feature a series of discussions and research sessions on contemporary art collecting, sponsored by the Banco Santander Foundation and led by Estrella de Diego and Judith Benhamou-Huet. These will culminate with the ‘A’ Collecting Awards ceremony, which this year will be presented to Eduardo Costantini, Eduardo Hochschild, Fundação EDP, Galila Barzilai-Hollander, Helga de Alvear and Isabel and Agustín Coppel.

With Argentina as the featured nation, ARCOmadrid will offer—in addition to a General Program that has undergone an especially rigorous selection process this year—a special gallery section curated by Inés Katzenstein and consisting of 12 Argentinian galleries presenting artists individually or in pairs. Other curated sections will include Diálogos, jointly curated by María de Corral, Lorena Martínez de Corral, and Catalina Lozano and offering selection of galleries presenting work created specifically for the fair in stands of one or two artists; and Opening, curated by Juan Canela and Stefanie Hessler, consisting of a selection of 16 new galleries, all of which have opened within the last seven years.

Parallel to the fair, ARCOmadrid has led the Argentinian institutions to organise a series of exhibitions at art and cultural institutions throughout Madrid, spotlighting contemporary Argentinian artists and contemporary art collections. Curated by Sonia Becce, the program will include exhibitions of Argentinian artists such as Jorge Macchi, Leandro Katz, Antonio Berni and Leandro Erlich and highlight of the shows of Argentinian Constantini Collection. It will also feature the multi-venue exhibition En el ejercicio de las cosas (In the exercise of things), curated by Sonia Becce and Mariano Mayer and including more than 50 artists at numerous Madrid museums and art centers. The program will also include a program of events highlighting Argentine theater, film and music, organized in conjunction with Marcelo Panozzo.