ARTEcontemporaneamodernaROMA, the new art exhibition in Rome, is coming back in its new, transformed edition: ArtO’_International Art Fair in Open City. Last year’s outcome leads us to believe that this edition will be even more successful. In the first edition, 50 prestigious art galleries (12% of them foreign, from London to Berlin, Cologne, Los Angeles, Vienna, Seoul and West Palm Beach) showed their works of art to over 19,000 visitors.
The vernissage itself was a great success, with large participation of v.i.p.’s from the Cultural, Art and Entertainment worlds. All of them showed grat interest and approval for this new initiative in Rome. Important art collectors arrived, among which a trustee of New York’s Metropolitan Museum, a member of the council of the Jerusalem Museum of Art, a group of collectors organized by the “Consortium of Berlin Art Museums”, a group of 20 French collectors, associations of collectors from Rome and Milan, individual collectors from Naples, Bologna, Brescia, Palermo and a range of delegations from other Italian cities. Over 300 accredited journalists from all over the world took part in the event.
The Palazzo dei Congressi in Rome’s Eur quarter was chosen as the location for ARTEcontemporaneamodernaROMA fair. EUR’s rationalist architecture allowed to emphasize an essential yet elegant setting and give the right prominence to the exhibited works. ArtO’_International Art Fair in Open City is coming back in the same area chosen by architect Adalberto Libera, with an even more efficient setting and greater care for detail. 70 galleries from all over the world are being selected by the new artistic director, the critic and independent curator Raffaele Gavarro with the help of a team of international curators. These collaborators are creating a range of exhibition pathways and projects in various parts of the world, helping to turn ArtO’ into a unique event in the panorama of art fairs. Marco Macuso and the curators’ team from Digicult, the web platform dedicated to art and new digital experiences, will complete the selection of galleries with a sector dedicated to research carried out by new media, which have gained a momentous access to the international art scene. A commission of 3 Italian and 3 international galleries complete the fair’s selection board.
Among other ArtO’ guests there are those specialized magazines and essay publishers which are reporting, and largely contributing to, the liveliness of contemporary debate. They will be sided by the desks of the most innovative European museums, that will show their programmes and create a parallel information reference point supporting the activities of the galleries in the exhibition. A section of collateral events, with talks, lectures, round tables and meetings, will bring to the exhibition’s heart the most pressing issues of present-day art. Our media-partners will contribute to the diffusion of ArtO’s events and contents. Music Box TV Channel and Radio Città Futura private radio will take part in the fair with their own corners. Two programmes for collectors will contribute to enhance the outcome of this event. The first, an international programme, is the result of the recent, exclusive partnership with New York’s Turon Travel agency, the historical organizer of travel for collectors all over the world. Turon Travel can boast similar cooperation projects with Art Basel and Frieze Art Fair. The second programme will take care of Italian collectors and has been entrusted to Rome’s Wip
ArtO’_International Art Fair in Open City can be easily reached from both Rome’s airports and the A1 Motorway, whereas Stazione Termini, Rome’s main railway station, can be reached by bus in 15 minutes. Moreover, the fair location can be easily reached by car, since it stands outside the restricted area in the city centre. Visitors are also assisted by large, comfortable parking areas siding the Palazzo dei Congressi. Finally, a special bus service will carry visitors from the city centre to the exhibition area.
ArtO’_International Art Fair in Open City is strategically situated in a unique city which is splendid and full of unexpected resources, a city which has inspired many artists. Today, contemporary art is a steady presence in Rome, thanks also to the recently opened museums, private galleries, areas for non-profit initiatives and Foundations. Rome lies at the centre of the globalized world: its location and its indisputable appeal confer to ArtO’_International Art Fair in Open City a great potential for attracting collectors and art lovers from all over the world.