ARCOmadrid2016

Exhibition:
35 Years: Madrid, the city-wide programme

As part of its 35th anniversary celebration taking place from February 24 to 28, ARCOmadrid 2016 will feature a series of exhibitions and interventions throughout the city of Madrid, providing a counterpoint to this year's special programme honoring the many curators and galleries that have participated in the fair over the past 35 years.

Entitled 35 Years: Madrid, the city-wide programme—curated by Javier Hontoria and sponsored by Julius Baer—will include museums and institutional venues not traditionally associated with contemporary art, embracing and paying homage to the city that has hosted ARCOmadrid and all its guests over the years. Artists featured in 35 Years: Madrid include Adriano Amaral, Fina Miralles, Rogelio López Cuenca, Oriol Vilanova, Fernando García, Mikel Eskauriaza, Johanna Calle and Khalil Rabah. Participating institutions include the Archeological Museum, the National Museum of Anthropology, the Cerralbo Museum, Tabacalera Estudios, the Romanticism Museum, Casa Árabe and the Colombian Embassy, with support from Spain's Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.

ARCOmadrid has always emphasized the active participation of curators, establishing a unique role for the fair as a place where artistic discourse and the art market encounter each other at the cross-roads between Europe and Latin America. This year is no exception, with a variety of curated sections and professional encounters that will culminate in a special event honoring the more than 160 curators who have contributed to the fair.

ARCOmadrid 2016 will feature a large-scale curated section that includes many of the leading and historic galleries that have played key roles at ARCOmadrid. Entitled Imagining Other Futures and curated by María and Lorena de Corral, in collaboration with Catalina Lozano and Aaron Moulton, the section will consist of booths of one or two artists, often differing significantly in age, representing each gallery's historic programme and future direction.

ARCOmadrid 2016 will also see a return of its well-received Solo Projects Focus Latin America and Opening programmes. Directed by Irene Hofmann and Lucía Sanromán and curated by Maria de Pontes and Ruth Estévez, this year's edition of Solo Projects will be structured on two themes: In the Expanded Fields of Theatre, Music and Dance: Art at the Intersection of Time and Subversion by Way of Humor. Opening, the young galleries section at ARCOmadrid 2016, will be curated by Juan Canela and Chris Sharp.

In keeping with ARCOmadrid's long-standing policy, the curated sections as well as the General Programme will emphasize booths presenting only one or two artists, thus offering collectors and fair visitors a unique opportunity for an in-depth look at some of the most up-to-date art being created at present.

In addition to the curated sections, ARCOmadrid 2016 will, as always, host an extensive series of talks, panel discussions and professional meetings, known as Forum and Professional Meetings, that address a wide range of topics and themes and feature the involvement of leading professionals from a variety of international contemporary art world sectors. This year's participants include Estrella de Diego, Glenn D. Lowry, Eduardo Hochschild, Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, Judith Benhamou-Huet, Francesca von Habsburg, Ximena Caminos, Adriano Pedrosa, João Fernandes, Glenn Phillips, Margarita Aizpuru, Miguel von Hafe, Armando Cabral, Jorge Gaspar, Catalina Lozano, Chus Martínez, Belén Palanco, Robin Cembalest, and many others.

These activities will culminate in the 35th Anniversary Meeting, a celebratory event on Saturday, February 27 that will count on the participation of many of the curators who have contributed to the fair since its inception.