Arte Fiera, from 2023 changes: return to traditional dates, side-by-side for director

Major changes for Arte Fiera, Italy’s longest-running art fair: the next edition of the Bologna-based kermesse returns to its traditional winter dates. In fact, if in 2022 it had been held in May due to the pandemic, in 2023 it will be held from February 3 to 5, and the fair will thus return as the first fair of the year in Italy. Moreover, the venue also marks a return to tradition: the event will take place in Pavilions 25 and 26, which have been associated with Arte Fiera for decades, and will use the Costituzione entrance, the fairgrounds’ gateway par excellence to the city center. Built in 1964 as part of BolognaFiere’s first core, pavilions 25 and 26, which underwent a recent restyling, are among the most elegant and recognizable in the entire district.

There will also be an important change in governance: Simone Menegoi, confirmed for the fourth edition in the role of Artistic Director, will be joined in the new role of Managing Director by collector and entrepreneur Enea Righi. Born in 1956, a native of Bologna, internationally known as one of the most important Italian collectors of contemporary art, Righi brings to Arte Fiera not only his in-depth knowledge of the art world, but managerial skills honed in more than 30 years at the top of a large company. Righi will be tasked with coordinating some crucial aspects of the event’s success, focusing in particular on the visitor experience. Righi’s arrival is the first, important sign of a decisive change of pace for Arte Fiera, which is embarking on a path of investment and renewal on a variety of fronts, from communication to the care of VIP guests, from content to partnerships, in view of an important anniversary: the 2024 edition, which marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of Arte Fiera, the first art fair to open its doors in our country (and one of the very first in Europe). With this in mind, the fair relaunches its partnership with Art City, Bologna’s Art Week circuit. The 2023 edition of Arte Fiera, therefore, will also be accompanied as usual by exhibitions and events coordinated by Lorenzo Balbi, director of MAMbo - Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna.

“It is an important relaunch project that has been undertaken for Arte Fiera,” says Gianpiero Calzolari, President of BolognaFiere, “a global project that will further strengthen the historic Italian event dedicated to modern and contemporary art. The artistic proposal of the galleries at the fair and the initiatives of Art City, the result of the consolidated collaboration with the Municipality of Bologna, will confirm our city as a reference point for the art market and evidence of the strong synergy between the fair and the institutions of the territory.”

For Matteo Lepore, mayor of Bologna, “The next edition of Arte Fiera shows BolognaFiere’s willingness, shared with the municipal administration, to relaunch the event by responding positively to the requests that had come from the art world. This effort by BolognaFiere corresponds to the city’s desire to rank among the top in terms of quality and quantity of cultural projects and initiatives. Among these is Art City, which again this year will accompany Arte Fiera with projects and initiatives that will involve the entire city, together with the art galleries and the many institutions and cultural realities involved. It will also be a springboard edition for the next one of the 50th anniversary of Arte Fiera in 2024.”

In terms of structure, the next edition of Arte Fiera confirms the presence alongside the Main Section of two curated and invitation-only sections, Painting XXI and Photography and Moving Images. These two established sections will be joined by a new one, also by invitation only, open to galleries as well as publishers and specialized bookstores: Multiples, dedicated to editioned works.

Arte Fiera, from 2023 changes: return to traditional dates, side-by-side for director

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