MIART 2006

Milan's 11th International Modern and Contemporary Art Fair - MiArt - opens its doors to the public from 30 March to 2 April 2006.

The inauguration ceremony takes place on the evening of 29 March, in Pavilion 15 of Milan's downtown Fieramilanocity exhibition center: this magnificent venue will also host the fair in 2007 (29 March - 1 April) and 2008 (10 - 13 April).

As in 2005, the stands in the Modern and Contemporary art sections will have 4 meter tall dividing walls. Once again, MiArt will be inviting galleries to submit their plans for prior approval. To ensure the utmost quality, the MiArt Review Board will examine all entries. There has been no change in the Review Board: the members are Claudia Gian Ferrari, Claudio Guenzani, Matteo Lorenzelli, Massimo Mininni, Marco Niccoli and Carla Pellegrini Rocca.

Gallery owners Benjamin Brown in London and Philomene Magers in Munich are goodwill ambassadors for MiArt in their respective countries. The fair's general artistic advisor is Pasquale Leccese, and Roberta Tenconi is the advisor for the Anteprima section.

MiArt is the only Italian exhibition and trade fair divided into three separation sections, covering the period from the Avant-garde movements to the latest trendsetters currently sweeping across the global artistic landscape.

The Modern art section is accessible to galleries presenting works by artists from the turn of the last century to the 1960s; the Contemporary art section is devoted to exhibitors presenting more recent works, and the Anteprima section hosts galleries that specialize in emerging talents less than 35 years of age.

During the event there will be the usual array of conferences and meetings bringing together members of the art community with the public at large. And starting in 2006 MiArt will be embarking on a new initiative: each year a special invitation will be extended to a different country: the first guest country will be China.

Some of today's leading Chinese contemporary art galleries will be in attendance.

The complete program will be presented over the course of several events due to be held both in Italy and overseas, the first of which is scheduled for Berlin in November 2005, followed by the official press conference announcing the 2006 edition, which will be held in Milan in January.

Cina intra / extra Ovest / round table discussion

The eleventh MiArt fair has scheduled a round table discussion on Saturday 1 April, entitled “Cina intra / extra Ovest”, centered on contemporary Chinese art. The event is part of a special program devoted to China that also includes the presentation of some of the most influential art galleries headquartered in the People’s Republic.

The round table is part of a new program kicking off in 2006 that will invite a different foreign country to feature every year at MiArt. The first country is China, reflecting the rising level of interest that Chinese art is attracting in both Italy and Europe in general.

MiArt has invited some of the country’s foremost contemporary art galleries to give local audiences a bird’s eye view of China’s fast-changing artistic landscape – one that has made waves amongst critics and art enthusiasts alike over the past few years.

The galleries participating in the Chinese exhibit represent a broad cross-section of the many that have been raising the profile of Chinese art for quite some time now. Some galleries were set up in the People’s Republic by Chinese owners and managers, others have European, American or Japanese founders and managers, but are headquartered permanently in China and work exclusively with Chinese artists.

The galleries will be side by side for the first time at an international art fair, and their attendance will contribute significantly towards building a wide-ranging and consistent critical space, as well as provide the delegation with an opportunity to view and interact with the latest Italian and international artistic experiences.

Besides bringing a group of Chinese galleries to Milan, MiArt is also staging a round table discussion between some of the most influential artists, curators and collectors whose activities link China with the West.

Ai Weiwei and Huang Yongping, Hou Hanru and Li Xianting, Guan Yi and Uli Sigg, together with Hans Ulrich Obrist, will be painting a picture of a unique artistic phenomenon – Chinese contemporary art – that is developing at an amazingly accelerated pace.

An artist, a curator and a collector who live and work in China will share the stage with an artist, a curator and a collector who conduct parallel lives outside China.

As the panelists discover and define the influence and impact of geography, the discussion will offer an incomparable chance to single out the specificities, processes and evolution of contemporary Chinese art, from the perspective of a connection with the international art system, and through the many layers of perception existing in China and the West, across boundaries that are far more than merely geographical.

Lorenzo Fiaschi and Adriana Forconi selected the Chinese exhibitors and are organizing the round table discussion.

Pressetext

MiArt 2006
11th International Modern and Contemporary Art Fair
Fieramilanocity - Milan
Pavilion 15

Cina intra / extra Ovest / round table discussion
mit Ai Weiwei, Huang Yongping, Hou Hanru, Li Xianting, Guan Yi, Uli Sigg, Ulrich Obrist
Organisation: Lorenzo Fiaschi, Adriana Forconi