APPLICATIONS OPENED FOR ARTVILNIUS’16
December 18, 2015The organisers of International Contemporary Art Fair ArtVilnius’16 invites Lithuanian and foreign galleries to start making reservations for this exclusive and the only one in the region art market event taking place on 9-12 June. Applications from galleries are accepted by 1 February.
Held for the seventh time, ArtVilnius’16 has well established itself in the local and global art markets, becoming one of the must-visit places for art lovers. This is also confirmed by impressive figures: last year the art fair was proud to meet a total of 18.5 thousand visitors; about 100 works of art were sold for EUR 200 thousand and some works are still under negotiation. Among the exhibitors, there were 55 galleries from 15 countries of the world; the project hall presented outstanding collections of works by world’s famous contemporary artists; the event was given broad coverage in the local and foreign media.
Mrs. Diana Stomienė, directress of the art fair, noted that ArtVilnius’16 is expected to expand even more in terms of participating countries, as the organisers of the fair are taking intensive efforts to present ArtVilnius in foreign markets, during conferences and through active cooperation with the international media. Mr. Eric Schlosser (France), creative director and art advisor to ArtVilnius, every year attracts many art collectors from all over the world who arrive to buy artworks in Vilnius even by private planes.
A guest country of ArtVilnius’16 will be Poland, a country with a really impressive contemporary art stage which is, however, not very well known to the visitors of ArtVilnius. “One of the objectives of ArtVilnius is to activate regional art markets and develop cultural cooperation in order to get to know the strongest galleries and artists in the neighbouring countries, and then to extend the geography to the West. The Polish art market is one of the most rapidly developing markets in the whole Central and Eastern Europe, attracting attention of lots of international collectors. The ArtVilnius delegation has visited Poland several times and personally invited the best art establishments, museums and galleries to take part in the art fair”, said the directress of ArtVilnius Diana Stomienė. The curator of the Polish contemporary art programme is famous art critic Prof. Dr. Raminta Jurėnaitė. Participation in ArtVilnius’16 has been already confirmed by such galleries as Warsaw-based Lokal 30 and Le Guern, Krakow gallery Zderzak, etc. In addition, a part of the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art MoCaK will be presented at the project zone of the art fair.
ArtVilnius’16 will be traditionally hosted by the Exhibition and Congress Centre Litexpo, where the architectural project covering 12,000 sq. metres will be conducted by Rokas Kilčiauskas (Processoffice), cooperating with the art fair for several years. Fair’s architect team members Miglė Nainytė and Austė Kuliešiūtė (MOA) will be responsible for partners’ stand projects.
As in previous years, ArtVilnius’16 will follow the tradition of selecting the best galleries and artists. There will be conferences, public discussions and educational programmes addressing art and collecting topics. As usual, the exhibition of large-size sculptures and installations TAKAS (PATH) will display works by Lithuanian and foreign artists.
Galleries willing to take part at International Contemporary Art Fair ArtVilnius’16 are invited to send their applications by 1 February.