The 44th Edition of Arte Fiera has concluded | Its success is confirmed once again

Bologna, 27 January 2020 – The 44th edition of Arte Fiera, organised by BolognaFiere, concluded yesterday. The event was very successful, with about 5% more exhibitors than last year’s already significant number, confirming its status as the reference point for collectors and art lovers.

The 2020 edition – the second led by Simone Menegoi and by Gloria Bartoli as vice director, welcomed visitors in Halls 15 and 18 of the Bologna Fair District with works presented by 155 galleries: 108 in the Main Section and 47 in the three curated and invitation-only sections: Photography and moving images, Focus, and Pittura XXI, for a total of 345 artists. This edition had 38 partners and sponsors, and 350 collectors were provided accommodation.

The public and exhibitors unanimously praised the fair’s overall quality and, especially, the new curated and invitation-only sections: Focus (devoted to art from the first half of the 20th century and to post-war masters) and Pittura XXI (devoted to emerging and mid-career painters). There were many prestigious exhibitors in the Main Section and the importance of Photography and moving images, representing current trends in photography and video, was confirmed once again.

Five Awards were assigned at Arte Fiera 2020: the Mediolanum Award for Painting to artist Michael Bauer (Norma Mangione Gallery, Turin); Wide Art Award to two works by artist Armin Linke (Vistamare Gallery, Pescara); the A Collection Award to the duo The Cool Couple (MLZ Art Dep, Trieste); the Rotary Award to the Pinksummer Gallery (Genoa) and to artist Luca Trevisani; the ANGAMC 2020 Award was conferred to Roberto Casamonti, founder of Tornabuoni Arte.

As always, Arte Fiera presented a fascinating and multifaceted public program: the show L’opera aperta/The open work curated by Eva Brioschi, which involved public and private institutions in Emilia-Romagna in the context of the Courtesy Emilia-Romagna series; Oplà. Performing Activities, curated by Silvia Fanti (Xing), Arte Fiera’s live arts programme with artists Luca Vitone, ZAPRUDER filmmakersgroup and Alessandro Bosetti; Welcome, artist Eva Marisaldi’s special project that greeted visitors entering Hall 18 with an installation of wonderful lightness and poetry. From Friday to Sunday, the Talks curated by Flash Art magazine offered opportunities to reflect on important topics in the art scene, and the laboratories presented by the Golinelli Foundation involved people of all ages in activities that unite art and technology.

Italian and foreign collectors were welcomed with a wide-ranging programme which, for the first year, included guided tours of the Fair in collaboration with a prestigious partner: UBS. Last but cer- tainly not least, there was applause for Arte Fiera’s attention to high-quality food and drink, with catering points and sale of excellent local products by FICO Eataly World Bologna. The VIP Lounge offered the menu of Dettagli, and special guest Giuseppe Palmieri, restaurant manager of Osteria Francescana, proposed the gourmet dishes of his Da Panino.