Returning for its second edition this year, viennacontemporary, Austria’s leading international art fair, will run from 22 – 25 September. Once again setting up in the striking venue of Marx Halle, the event will bring together more than 100 galleries from across 26 countries in a showcase of emerging and established contemporary art. Following the success of 2015’s rebranding and repositioning, viennacontemporary’s reputation has continue to grow as an international marketplace for contemporary art in both the domestic and international art scenes.
Under the artistic direction of Christina Steinbrecher-Pfandt and executive management of Renger van den Heuvel, this year’s fair is dedicated to providing a high-calibre exhibition programme where collectors can brush shoulders with a vibrant mix of established galleries and new, exciting institutions; from across Austria, its focus regions, and the Western hemisphere. Ultimately, the four-day event is making Vienna a hotspot for art lovers across the world. The 2016 edition will be organised around three general sectors (Established, Young, and Reflections), which will distinguish participating galleries by how long they have been running, and four special sectors (Solo Expanded, Nordic Highlights, Ex-Yugoslavia and Albania, and ZONE1).
Whilst Solo Expanded will showcase solo, dual, or group exhibitions that focus on “contemporary languages”, Nordic Highlights will feature select contemporary artists from Finland, Denmark, and Sweden, and highlight similarities and differences in the national art scenes against the backdrop of the entire northern region. In a similar vein, Ex-Yugoslavia and Albania (curated by Albanian curator and writer Adela Demetja) will exhibit a representative cross-section of contemporary art from the Yugoslavian successor states and Albania, and ZONE1 will show solo presentations by young Austrian artists. Together these sectors hope to introduce Northern and Eastern European contemporary artists to a worldwide audience.
Accompanying the exhibitions is a varied programme of events, such as a Cinema programme developed and organised by Olaf Stüber, a Collectors Forum series of talks with international collectors curated by Julien Robson, a Young Collectors Talk, a series of studio tours, and ‘Public Image’, a contemporary art discussion series curated by Kate Sutton.
viennacontemporary, 22 – 25 September, Marx Halle, Karl-Farkas-Gasse 19, A-1030 Vienna.
Find out more: www.viennacontemporary.at.
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Credits
1. Oskar Dawicki, Flag, 2013 © Courtesy of Raster Gallery.
