arteBA 2018: Programming
SECTIONS
Assembled by a selection committee consisting of Ana María Battistozzi, Orly Benzacar, Eduardo Brandão and Sabine Schmidt, the Main Section will include 52 galleries, 9 of which will participate in the new Stage modality, while 17 will each present one outstanding artist for Cabinet, for which the advisory committee is made up by Ana María Battistozzi, Patrick Charpenel and João Fernandes.
This section also dedicates space to the Plaza de los Maestros, featuring key pieces by great modern artists. Nine Latin American artists from important invited galleries will participate in the seventh edition of Solo Show, curated by José Luis Blondet. A renovated edition of U-TURN Project Rooms will be curated by Magalí Arriola, establishing dialog between 12 galleries with specific projects involving up to three artists.
Finally, Barrio Joven, curated by the duo Santiago Villanueva and Miguel López, is the section dedicated to independent, emerging and alternative projects at the Fair, and this year 15 galleries will be present, featuring different proposals with a particular impetus in performance, set in a specially designed space.
The Performance Box section confirms its profile at the Fair with programming that combines both outstanding artists in this discipline and videos curated by Rodrigo Alonso. Now in its sixth edition, the Isla de Ediciones will be in the hands of a new curatorial duo, Nancy Rojas and Santiago García Navarro, who invite 6 international editorial projects in a book shop space specialized in contemporary art and a collective book table organized by Panorama Pulso where independent publishers offer their production. Isla de Ediciones also has its own auditorium with a program of talks, book presentations and actions connecting art practice to editorial practice.
This year, the main thrust of the Open Forum’s Prime Time program of debates will focus on themes related to the market and collecting, while three conversations with widely recognized artists will form part of the Art Conversations fragment. The Fair also has a Networking program that enables guests to get to know the local art scene and to participate in special visits to collections, galleries and museums. Curators and museum directors from over 20 institutions also arrive as part of the Programa Internacional de Adquisiciones de Museos and the Programa Federal, by way of which works can be acquired at the Fair to grow their collections thanks to support from businesses and individual donors.
In addition to the activities within the scope of the Fair, arteBA proposes a cultural map of the city to the entire visiting public, facilitating visits to key contemporary art circuits throughout Buenos Aires during this week: Distrito de las Artes (Arts District), the new Palermo/Villa Crespo zone and the Recoleta/Retiro corridor.
In strategic squares all over the world, 2017 has been a year of significant visibility, awakening interest on the part of new publics whom we eagerly await during the month of May with Buenos Aires’ best art proposition, in order to get to know our art scene better and to thoroughly enjoy the city.
SECTIONS AND CURATORS
MAIN SECTION
Established galleries chosen by an autonomous selection committee in charge of evaluating postulants’ proposals.
Gallery Selection Committee: Ana María Battistozzi (Art Critic and Independent Curator, Buenos Aires). Orly Benzacar (Gallery Director, Ruth Benzacar Galería de Arte and President, Meridiano, Buenos Aires). Eduardo Brandão (Gallery Director, Vermelho, San Pablo). Sabine Schmidt (Gallery Director, PSM, Berlin).
STAGE
A group of a maximum of 10 young galleries, in stands of up to 40m2. Participating galleries are those that have opened 5 years ago or less, representing young artists and participating in the Fair for the first time and also those coming from Barrio Joven. The same selection committee from the Main Section will be in charge of evaluating their proposals.
CABINET
Outstanding sectors within some of the Main Section galleries’ stands, where one or several works by a single modern or contemporary artist are exhibited. An advisory committee is in charge of this selection.
Cabinet Advisory Committee: Ana María Battistozzi (Art Critic and Independent Curator, Buenos Aires) Patrick Charpenel (Curator and Executive Director, Museo del Barrio, Mexico City/New York). João Fernandes (Deputy Director, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid).
U-TURN PROJECT ROOMS
One curator invites galleries to participate with a specific project involving up to three artists.
Curator: Magalí Arriola (Writer and Independent Curator, Mexico City).
SOLO SHOW
One curator invites Latin American artists and the galleries that represent them to participate with solo shows.
Curator: José Luis Blondet (Curator of Special Initiatives, LACMA, Los Angeles).
BARRIO JOVEN
Barrio Joven is a platform for galleries and new or alternative spaces engaged in the exhibition and sales of contemporary art that present emerging or not yet established Latin American artists at the Fair. These propositions stand apart due to their originality, risk-taking and experimental nature. The proposals are selected by an autonomous curatorial team.
Curatorial Team: Miguel A. López (Chief Curator, TEOR/éTica, San José, Costa Rica and co-founder of Bisagra, Lima). Santiago Villanueva (Artist and Curator, Buenos Aires).
PERFORMANCE BOX
Space dedicated to live artists’ performances and a selection of videos carried out in collaboration with the Bienal de Performance and thanks to support from Arte x Arte.
Videos Curator Rodrigo Alonso (Professor and Independent Curator, Buenos Aires).
ISLA DE EDICIONES
A curatorial team invites publishers and independent editorial projects to put their contemporary art books and publications at the public’s disposal for purchase. This section also has its own auditorium for book presentations, editorial projects and activities related to editorial practice.
Curatorial Team: Santiago García Navarro (Writer and Curator, Buenos Aires). Nancy Rojas (Curator and Essayist, Rosario).
OPEN FORUM: Open Forum is a meeting point for leading figures from the local and international art scene, enriching debates on contemporary art from the standpoint of Argentina.
