International art fair for contemporary art, Athens
21-24 May
VIP Preview: 21 May, 6-8 pm
Opening: 21 May, 8 pm
NEW VENUE
Faliro Pavilion,
Hellenic Olympic Properties
Athens, Greece
The fair will be located at the shorefront of Athens, in the Faliro Pavilion, a former Olympic Games venue. The Faliro Pavilion is an ideal place to re-connect with contemporary art, while revelling in one of the most beautiful seasides close to the centre of the ancient capital city. The wide range of prestigious galleries exhibiting at ART-ATHINA will provide the fair’s international audience with an overview of emerging trends within the arts, and enable visitors to see and buy works from leading international artists. ART-ATHINA will welcome 60 galleries from 12 countries, presenting more than 300 artists. It will also host an expansive programme of parallel events, talks, exhibitions and art projects taking place both within the fair and throughout the city, creating a platform for experimentation, discussion and debate within the contemporary arts.
The exhibition 10 Aspects of Hellenic Photography – Contemporary Creation will be a major parallel event within ART-ATHINA. The exhibition will be presented for the first time in Greece and includes 100 works from 10 young Greek photographers. The exhibition, which was presented for the first time in 2008 at the Théâtre de la Photographie et de l’Image in Nice, France, is curated by Vangelis Ioakimidis (Director of the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography) and Jean-Pierre Giusto (ex-Director of the Théâtre de la Photographie et de l’Image).
Collateral events
The performance festival OPA 0.2 (On Performance Art) is a fifteen-day festival featuring an intense programme of live performances, films, screenings, lectures, talks and open discussions. Under the title RE-THINK/RE-USE/RE-MAKE, this year’s key site of investigation is the critical approach developed by the French curator and art critic Nicolas Bourriaud in his book ‘Post-production’. ART-ATHINA will host a number of festival performances as well as panel discussions with Nicolas Bourriaud and distinguished speakers. Further information on OPA at www.bios.gr
The exhibition In Praise of Shadows curated by Paolo Colombo and presented at the Benaki Museum (22/05-26/07/2009) is included in the parallel programme of ART-ATHINA 2009. The exhibition explores the parallels between the traditions of shadow theatre and the new narrative spirit in contemporary art, bringing together works and films by Haluk Akakçe, Nathalie Djurberg, William Kentridge, Katariina Lillqvist, Jockum Nordström, Lotte Reiniger, Christiana Soulou, Ladislas Starewitch, Andrew Vickery and Kara Walker. In Praise of Shadows comprises some 90 works, from free standing models of theatres to drawings, collages and wall installations. (www.benaki.gr)
ART-ATHINA 2009 International Honorary Board
Mr Paolo Colombo (Art Advisor, Istanbul Modern)
Mr Wilfried Cooreman (Collector, Belgium)
Mrs Agnes Fierobe (Director of Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris)
Mr Enrique Juncosa (Director of Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin)
Mrs Mercedes Vilardell (Collector, Spain)
Reciprocal collectors’ programmes
ART-ATHINA is also pleased to announce a reciprocal patrons’ programme with Art Dubai and Art Rotterdam in 2009. The partnership will bring collectors from Dubai and Holland to Athens and seeks to create a contemporary art itinerary stretching from Europe to the Middle East. Further to ART-ATHINA, the Thessaloniki Biennale (May until September 2009) will be another good reason to consider Greece as a prime cultural destination in May. Visitors to ART-ATHINA will be welcomed in Thessaloniki, and joint VIP programmes will allow guests to visit both art events.
ART-ATHINA
Organised by D.ART
140 Solonos Str., Athens 10677, Greece, tel.: +30 210 3303533,
e-mail: info@art-athina.gr
FOR IMAGES AND INTERNATIONAL PRESS ENQUIRIES
Please contact Amy Drillsma-Milgrom at Brunswick Arts, Paris
adrillsma-milgrom@ brunswickgroup.com +33 (0) 1 53 96 83 91
