Futuristic Argentina

Since its founding 25 years ago, arteBA has established itself as one of the most important fairs in Argentina and as a meeting point where international galleries and their artists come together with collectors, art professionals, museums and other cultural institutions. The 26th edition of arteBA will be held from 24 May to 27 May at La Rural Exhibition Centre in Palermo, Buenos Aires. The 2017 instalment welcomes over 90 galleries to its main section and curated sections, from 19 countries including Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Japan, Kosovo, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, the Dominican Republic, the US, Uruguay and Venezuela.

This edition’s strong international presence will be accentuated by the Networking Programme, developed to stimulate the creation of partnerships and collaborations between the Argentinean art scene and other entities abroad by way of invitations to curators and directors of art institutions from all over the world. Last year, 60 guests from 14 countries participated in this programme, in addition to the international speakers taking part in Open Forum, an arena for debate featuring leading figures from the art world that is open to the public and collectors.

In 2017, arteBA’s Main Section sees a committee comprised of Ana María Battistozzi, independent curator, Buenos Aires; Orly Benzacar, Director of Ruth Benzacar gallery and President of the Cámara de Galerías Meridiano, Buenos Aires; Ignacio Liprandi, Director of Ignacio Liprandi Arte Contemporáneo gallery, Buenos Aires; Eduardo Brandão, Director of Vermelho gallery, São Paulo; and Sabine Schmid, Director of PSM gallery, Berlin, select 54 galleries. Chris Sharp, writer and independent curator, Mexico City, will be Guest Curator for the U-TURN Project Rooms section, which highlights the latest tendencies in contemporary art, and Sofía Hernández Chong Cuy, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Collection, New York and Caracas, will be in charge of the Solo Show Zurich section, where galleries present individual projects by Latin American artists.

The Barrio Joven Chandon section will feature galleries and proposals of an experimental nature, and new section, the Performance Box showcases the work of live artists and a series of iconic video representations. The video selection will be curated by Rodrigo Alonso, professor and independent curator, Buenos Aires. The arteBA’s programme will also integrate and discuss the first two issues of arteBA magazine and its predominant theme of ‘the future’. Flowing throughout the entire fair, in particular the Open Forum and the Dixit exhibition section, this theme calls to the fore Agustín Perez Rubio, Artistic Director of MALBA, Buenos Aires, who has been invited to design and coordinate the Prime. Meanwhile, Javier Villa, Curator of Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires, and Sarah Demeuse, writer and independent curator, Brooklyn, have been invited to curate the fourth edition of Dixit.

The Acquisitions Programme for Local and International Museums, which promotes collecting on the part of institutions while contributing to their patrimony, will also return. In last year’s edition, a record number of 53 works were acquired by museums and businesses. arteBA represents a unique opportunity to meet other art world figures and to discover the cultural wealth that Buenos Aires has to offer.

arteBA, 24-27 May, La Rural Exhibition Centre, Palermo, Buenos Aires.

For more, visit: www.arteba.org.

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Credits
1. Tomás Saraceno, 55 Cnc d/M+M, 2015. Esther Schipper | Berlín. Part of U-Turn Project, arteBA 2016. Courtesy of arteBA Fundación and the artist.