Artissima 2016: what’s new?

Artissima’s recipe in 2016 

Innovative and experimental, Artissima focuses on young and avant-garde artists, curated booths and special projects. The high quality of the fair, which is guaranteed year after year by a growing number of international curators who contribute to the research and selection of the artists on show, attracts sophisticated collectors from around the world and an attentive specialist public. 

Artissima 2016 revolves around the commitment to promote artistic and curatorial experimentation, and the exploration of the notion of performance. The latter has inspired the performative exhibition project In Mostra and guides the public through the fair's sections, stimulating an active dialogue between the visitor's eye and body and the art object. 

An active curatorial research platform

Backed by the success of the previous years, in 2016 the curated sections Back to the Future, Present Future and Per4m are enriched by new inspirations and visions. Back to the Future continues to develop its curatorial research on the most relevant yet underestimated avant-garde figures, and this year concentrates on works dated between 1970 and 1989. This time-tested formula has turned into one of the most stimulating platform for rediscovery and market success. Similarly, Present Future has affirmed its role as a hotbed of emerging talents, expanding geographically thanks to the field research conducted by a team of young curators. The vision of the curators in this section has always proven to be groundbreaking, as evidenced by the future career trajectories of the featured artists.  

An extended stage for performance

Per4m, the performance section of the fair inaugurated in 2014, has evolved into an unprecedented project curated by the Dutch collective If I Can't Dance, I Don't Want To Be Part Of Your Revolution. This new programme-coherent, innovative, cutting-edge and specifically created for the context of the fair-takes the public on a surprising journey through the latest forms of experimentation in the field of performance.  

New framesworks; new visions within gallery booths

Unprecedented fresh attention will be given to the New Entries section devoted to young galleries, which for the first time are presented together on a main axis of the fair, along its entrance. Furthermore, joining the traditional Main Section and Art Editions, a new section called Dialogue features specially curated presentations in the booths.

An exhibition space for outstanding art collections

The notion of performativity emerges in the curatorial approach of the 2016 edition of the exhibition project In Mostra. This ambitious show, curated by Simone Menegoi, revolves around the relationship between the human body, gesture and posture, and it includes exceptional artworks from the major public and private collections of the Piemonte region.

Artissima: a supporting fair for art and artists

Once again, Artissima awards six prizes: illy Present Future Prize, Sardi per l'Arte Back to the Future Prize, Promos Scalo Milano New Entries Prize, Fondazione Ettore Fico Prize, Prix K-Way Per4m and Reda Prize for Photography. This underscores the ambitious and visionary approach of Artissima, reflecting the tangible commitment and support of artistic research from the fair's generous partners.

A place for reflection on experimentation

A talk entitled "What is Experimental?", curated by Stefano Collicelli Cagol, tests the fair's pursuit of experimentation. In this talk, a group of curators discuss and debate leading approaches to commercial and non-profit art display. They join the more than 50 international museum directors and curators involved in the fast-paced programming of Artissima: walkie-talkies, guided tours, encounters, juries and awards. 

Collectors' Extravaganza

Artissima, an awaited event for sophisticated and committed collectors the world over, has increased its area of influence in recent years with an ever-growing geopolitical perspective. The fair is now a platform for global exchange, thanks to the active participation of collectors from Brazil, Peru, Israel, Colombia, the Philippines and Eastern Europe, besides the traditional important presence of American and European collectors. Acknowledged as the fair of discovery and rediscovery, Artissima stimulates the most vivid and international exchange, putting Turin on the map as the city of reference for the perceptive art public.

Turin: the most performing city 

Turin has turned contemporary art into its main vocation, becoming an unrivalled cultural gem in Italy. Artissima is rooted in the fertile territory of a city that counts on the serendipitous convergence of great public and private institutions, foundations and collections. It counts on being the cradle of Arte Povera, on the important local curators who are active internationally, on its many exceptional artists, on gallerists as well as visionary collectors who make up its unique yet mysterious identity.

Artissima: a forerunner for the tendencies of contemporary art 

For the fifth year running, Artissima is directed by Sarah Cosulich, who has worked actively on the fair's development and innovation. Artissima is an unmissable event in the international art calendar because of its high-quality presentations and careful selection of works and galleries, as well as for its ability to introduce new projects and anticipate trends, and for the unprecedented attention it pays to the curator's role and to experimentation. We look forward to welcoming you this November!