The Museum Of Contemporary Canadian Art at ARCO 05
February 10 - 14, 2005
The Museum Of Contemporary Canadian Art, (MOCCA), is pleased to announce participation at ARCO ’05, Madrid, Spain, from February 10 through the 14th. ARCO is one of the largest and most prestigious contemporary art fairs in the world housing over 250 of the most important international galleries, dozens of curatorial projects and special activities, and an international symposium featuring some of the leading academics, curators and art world leaders. ARCO draws 120,000 thousand visitors annually over 4 days of events, conferences and social gatherings.
For ARCO’05, MOCCA Director/Curator David Liss is one of 10 international curators invited to select over 40 galleries to participate in the New Territories section of the Fair. New Territories is a project intended to showcase artists 40 years of age and younger whose works explore new and intriguing directions in contemporary art.
For his section of New Territories Liss has invited 9 Canadian galleries, representing 27 artists working in a diverse range of media and thematic inquiry. When asked in a recent interview by the Spanish media to state his criteria for selecting the galleries and artists, or if it was possible to neatly summarize trends and tendencies in the current generation of younger Canadian artists, Liss responded by stating:
“The criteria for selecting galleries for New Territories is quite general: these are some of the galleries in Canada that are committed to younger artists that are forging new directions, exploring new territories. Also, these galleries have expressed an enthusiasm for exploring new market territories within a global context. I’m not so sure, however, that the selection of artists and galleries can be said to embody some essential Canadian vision. At this point Canada is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world and, as such, Canadian expression, Canadian vision tends to be extremely dynamic and, in my opinion, more reflective of the current global condition. This is what is unique and exciting about Canadian culture and identity.”
Inclusion in the New Territories section of ARCO represents one of Canada’s most significant forays into the international art world and onto the global stage – an opportunity to have our country’s cultural voice included in the global discourse.
Included with this communication is a full list of participating galleries and artists. For further information on New Territories and ARCO ’05 consult www.arcospain.org or by email: infoarco@ifema.es
For information on the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art‘s participation at ARCO contact Amanda Reeves at (416) 395-7490, or by email: areeves@toronto.ca
MOCCA’s participation at ARCO ’05 is supported by ARCO Madrid, and International Trade Canada. All MOCCA programs are supported by Toronto Culture, the Ontario Arts Council, MOCCA Membership, corporate sponsorship and individual donations.
Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art 952 Queen Street West Toronto, ON Canada M6J 1G8
Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Admission FREE
For information on the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, call (416) 395-0067 or email: mocca@toronto.ca
