ARTE FIERA 2013 BOLOGNA

ARTE FIERA 2013 BOLOGNA  
25-28 JANUARY 2013 

With Verzotti and Spadoni as Artistic Directors, Arte Fiera will again present the finest in
contemporary and modern Italian art. Agreement between BolognaFiere and the City of
Bologna for a programme of exhibits and cultural events coordinated by Maraniello,
Director of MAMbo. The 2013 edition of Arte Fiera Art First, to be held in Bologna from Friday 25 to Monday 28 January, was presented today at a press conference at BolognaFiere. The conference announced new features of the next edition, which will strengthen the national and international leadership of Italy’s top exhibition devoted to art.
Duccio Campagnoli, President of BolognaFiere, Alberto Ronchi, Bologna’s Councillor for Culture,
and  Massimo Di Carlo, Chairman of the Association of Italian Galleries, presented the first two
important new aspects of the next Arte Fiera.
First, the exhibition’s new artistic direction, entrusted to two of Italy’s top art experts:  Giorgio
Verzotti, who will curate the contemporary art section, and Claudio Spadoni, who will be in charge
of modern art.  As Duccio Campagnoli affirms, “These choices have confirmed and strengthened our collaboration with Italian gallery owners and their Association, and will certainly confirm and expand Arte Fiera’s role as the largest and most complete exhibition in Italy and the foremost opportunity for modern and contemporary Italian art. We will give even greater emphasis to new galleries, young artists, and international participants. With our renewed agreement with the City of Bologna and the commitment of its Councillor for Culture, we want to achieve our goal of presenting not just an art fair that involves the city, but of having the entire city live for art – both during and after Arte Fiera.
In these tragic days for our region, the heritage lost under the rubble of the earthquakes makes us
understand the value of art as a sign of history, a symbol of society, of shared emotion.”
Second, President Campagnoli and Councillor Ronchi presented the agreement between the City of
Bologna and BolognaFiere to organize the cultural and exhibition programme that will accompany
Arte Fiera and confirm Bologna’s vocation as a city of art and culture.
The cultural initiatives offered by Arte Fiera and the City will be coordinated and presented by
MAMbo (Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna), directed by Lorenzo Sassoli de’ Bianchi and curated by Gianfranco Maraniello, with a coordination committee that includes the artistic directors of Arte
Fiera. Giorgio Verzotti, art critic, was chief curator at Castello di Rivoli (Turin) and at M.A.R.T. (Rovereto).
Claudio Spadoni, art historian, is the scientific  director of MAR (Ravenna) and has curated many
exhibits for public museums and galleries in Italy.  Thanks to the arrival of the two new directors and the division of their responsibilities, Arte Fiera will expand its horizons to modern art as well: the exhibition and galleries will offer not only contemporary art, but an entire century of fine Italian art, art which since the early 20th  century has filled museums and galleries all over the world, thereby recovering artists who otherwise would have been excluded from the original format.
“Bologna has always been important,” notes  Giorgio Verzotti, speaking of his new assignment.
“Arte Fiera has confirmed its role as Italy’s foremost art fair thanks to the quality of its galleries and, consequently, of the works shown. We have to continue in this direction while simultaneously
innovating. With regard to contemporary art, my task will be to confirm this excellence, increasing the Fair’s power to attract new galleries in Italy and abroad, and to maximise its internationalisation.
The Technical Committee and I will carefully evaluate proposals from galleries to characterise the
event based on concrete guidelines, with rigorous selection, to create an exhibition that will be truly
one-of-a-kind and honour it international fame.” The goal of making Arte Fiera “the largest fair of Italian art” is also a priority for Claudio Spadoni, who will curate its expansion to the early 20th
 century. “I see this assignment as a historical possibility to return space to those great Italian artists, who will be promoted by involving galleries and awakening the public and collectors to the unique historical and artistic heritage they represent.
In this way, Arte Fiera will confirm its national leadership and become even more important
internationally, attracting a larger number of collectors, especially from abroad.” Bologna and its art institutions are working as a team to consolidate the success of Arte Fiera Off events, which attract tens of thousands to Bologna in renewed interest in art. Starting this year, museums will play a principal role in hosting events, coordinated by the artistic director of MAMbo,  Gianfranco Maraniello. “It will be an opportunity for the city to show and recover little-known sites dedicated to art. In Arte Fiera’s new formula, they will be natural sites on a path leading to artistic pleasure. Bologna and its historical centre will be transformed into a great museum, open to everyone.”
According to Massimo Di Carlo, Chairman of the Association of Italian Galleries, “The plan for this
new Arte Fiera is important and ambitious because it creates a dialogue between city institutions and the organisation of the Fair. This in itself is new for an Italian fair. In these critical and tragic times, art is demonstrating its ability to conserve an intrinsic value and to appease the spirit. In early 2013, Arte Fiera Art First will be the first exhibition on the calendar as well as the first due to its strategic position. There is great esteem for the two new directors in professional circles, and expectations are very high. Our galleries will go all out, because Arte Fiera is crucial for us. We have an important and profitable relationship with BolognaFiere and its president. Arte Fiera is a jewel that adds value to BolognaFiere’s activities and is a reference point for gallery owners. In this difficult climate, we have to find even more energy to demonstrate the quality of our work and to reinforce the year’s most important event.”
-press office Arte Fiera Bologna-

for program and collateral events see more in  http://www.artefiera.bolognafiere.it