From February 6 to 8, 2026, Bologna will host the 49th edition of Arte Fiera, with a dedicated preview on February 5. The event opens under the artistic direction of Davide Ferri, joined by Enea Righi, in his fourth edition as director of operations. After the previous edition of 2025, characterized by the participation of the most important Italian galleries and an intense flow of collectors, the fair is preparing to inaugurate a new cycle.
The title chosen for this edition, What Will Be, suggests an openness to the future and recalls an element of mystery linked to the contemporary art experience. The event continues to consolidate its role as a reference point for the Italian art system, with a look that embraces both the historical twentieth century and the research of the latest generations. The two pavilions that host the fair, illuminated by natural light from opening to closing, offer an articulated itinerary where the proposals in Pavilion 26 dedicated to the modern dialogue with the experiments of the contemporary in Pavilion 25.
The 49th edition sees the participation of 174 galleries, plus 12 exhibitors dedicated to publishing and 15 institutions, for a total of 201 attendees. The main section covers a time span from modern to post-conflict art to contemporary research, and is enriched by five curated invitation-only sections, including some major new additions.
The modern pavilion hosts the new project Ventesimo+, curated by Alberto Salvadori, which involves galleries working in the historical twentieth century and looks at the development of each collection as a peculiar phenomenon. Photography and Surroundings, entrusted to Marta Papini, expands the narrative of the photographic medium by including historicized authors and young talents, formal research and conceptual approach, with intersections with other media. The Multiples section, for the first time curated by Lorenzo Gigotti, explores artistic practices oriented toward the reproducibility and dissemination of artistic languages, from artist’s books to graphics to new media.
Pittura XXI, curated by Ilaria Gianni, delves into the pictorial research of emerging and non-emerging artists, both Italian and international, from 2000 to the present, while Prospettiva, in its second year and entrusted to Michele D’Aurizio, investigates the creative research of new generations through monographic presentations promoted by emerging and structured galleries.
The fair’s selection committee is renewed with seven members, four of whom are new: Gian Marco Casini, Davide Mazzoleni, Enzo Savoia and Benedetta Spalletti join Fabrizio Padovani, Carlo Repetto and Federica Schiavo in order to enhance lines of research on historical and contemporary creativity.
The Prelude section commissions Marcello Maloberti with the site-specific work KOLOSSAL, a temporary installation placed at the entrance to the fair. The structure includes a crane that raises a Bologna road sign suspended between earth and sky, with clods of earth and concrete underlining its origin. During the event, specially made posters will be spread between the fair and the city. The project is supported by Gruppo Hera.
The collaboration with Fondazione Furla continues with artist Chalisée Naamani, who presents Wardrobe (2026) for the Pavilion de l’Esprit Nouveau. The artist’s practice explores the identity and representation of the body in contemporary visual culture through assemblages of heterogeneous materials and clothes conceived as sculptures or paintings, not intended for everyday use.
BPER confirms its role as Main Partner of the event, supporting art and culture as tools for social inclusion and development. The relationship with ANGAMC also continues, with a permanent discussion table on the Italian gallery sector.
Book Talk, a series of meetings dedicated to art books, curated by Guendalina Piselli and realized in collaboration with BPER, is back, involving critics, scholars and artists in the presentation of catalogs, monographs and artists’ books. Among the titles presented are Chiara Calgaro ’s Changing Room and Eleonora Agostini’s A Study On Waitressing, which won the Paris Photo-Aperture PhotoBook Award 2025, as well as monographs by Alessandra Spranzi and Michael E. Smith and the national premiere of Sudario magazine #1: Ouroboros.
The fair also establishes the Arte Fiera Fund, with 100,000 euros funded by BolognaFiere and Cosmoprof for the acquisition of works featured at the fair. Prizes for the 2026 edition include the ANGAMC Prize, the BPER Prize, the Collezione Righi Prize, the Marval Acquisition Award, the Officina Arte Ducati Prize, the Osvaldo Licini by Fainplast Prize, the Rotary Prize, and the second edition of the Flash Art Italia Award, divided into ten categories to enhance the entire Italian art ecosystem.
The narrative of Arte Fiera through social channels is enriched with the video format LET’S WALK, which proposes walks in the city between urban memory and contemporary art. The first episodes explore Kenzo Tange’s Towers, Niccolò dell’Arca ’s Lamentation over the Dead Christ and the Renato Dall’Ara stadium, with talks by local architects, artists and personalities.
In conjunction with Arte Fiera, ART CITY Bologna returns for the fourteenth edition, directed by Lorenzo Balbi and promoted by the City with the support of BolognaFiere. The Special Program The Body of Language, curated by Caterina Molteni, features interventions by seven Italian and international artists in important places in the city, from the University of Bologna to libraries and theaters. More than 300 events including exhibitions, performances, talks and installations transform Bologna into a widespread stage for contemporary art. The ART CITY White Night will take place on Saturday, Feb. 7, allowing the public to enjoy art even in the evening hours.
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| Arte Fiera 49 in Bologna, here's the full program: sections, prizes, news |
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