Francesco Manacorda announced as the new Artistic Director of the Fair

Artissima is pleased to announce that
Francesco Manacorda has been appointed
as new Artistic Director of the Fair.

www.artissima.it

Born in Turin in 1974, Francesco Manacorda is a critic and an independent curator based in London and Visiting Lecturer in Exhibition History and Critical Theory at the Curating Contemporary Art Department of the Royal College of Art, London. He graduated from the University of Turin and earned an MA degree in Curating Contemporary Art at the Royal College of Art, London. He worked in London as a freelance curator for four years and was later appointed Curator at the Barbican Art Gallery where he has organized two large-scale group exhibitions – “Martian Museum of Terrestrial Art” (co-curated with Lydia Yee, 2008) and “Radical Nature – Art and Architecture for a Changing Planet 1969-2009″ (2009) – as well as solo exhibitions with emerging artists. His curatorial practice has also included collaborations with many art institutions amongst which the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Serpentine Gallery, Lyon Biennial, T1 – Turin Triennial, and the Slovenian and New Zealand Pavilions at the Venice Biennale. Since November 2009 he has been working as external curator for the ICA, London. He has contributed to magazines such as Domus, Flash Art, Frieze, Metropolis M, Piktogram, Kaleidoscope, Untitled, Art Review and Mousse.

The next edition of Artissima will take place from November 5 to 7, 2010, at Lingotto Fiere, Turin.

As the new Artistic Director pointed out, “By combining public and private, Artissima is not just an art fair but also an annual festival of contemporary art. This hybrid condition is precisely what differentiates it from similar events.” It is Francesco Manacorda’s intention “to continue the excellent work started up by Andrea Bellini, pushing forward the innovative curatorial format that complements the commercial event. This dual identity should not be seen as a source of conflict but, on the contrary, as an opportunity to create a unique new configuration of great mutual advantage to gallerists, collectors, professionals and the public at large. The national and international visibility acquired by Artissima in recent years needs to be increased and developed in order to make it a cultural event of great appeal, as a result of its experimental nature.”

ARTISSIMA, a brand-name event of Regione Piemonte, Provincia di Torino and Città di Torino, is promoted by Fondazione Torino Musei. Main sponsors: Camera di commercio di Torino, Compagnia di San Paolo and Fondazione per l’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea CRT.

ARTISSIMA 17
November 5–7, 2010
Preview and Opening: November 4, 2010
Lingotto Fiere, Turin

info@artissima.it
www.artissima.it