http://www.worldexpo2015.it
http://www.expo2015.org/
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expo_2015

EXPO. BOERI: “PARCO AGROALIMENTARE PROGETTO DI INTERESSE COLLETTIVO”

Milano, 29 giugno 2011 – L’assessore alla Cultura con delega all’Expo Stefano Boeri, a seguito dell’incontro con il segretario generale del BIE Vicente Loscertales, ha dichiarato: “Come ha detto il segretario generale del Bie Loscertales, il parco agroalimentare contenuto nel Masterplan di Expo 2015 è un grande progetto di interesse collettivo, che deve restare sul sito anche dopo la conclusione dell’evento. Come ha ben chiarito il Sindaco Pisapia, il parco non è un paesaggio bucolico, ma un grande sistema di campi coltivati, serre ad alta tecnologia, orti botanici, padiglioni e servizi ricettivi ed espositivi che ha come scopo la valorizzazione delle filiere agroalimentari dei Paesi del mondo e di quella italiana in particolare”.

http://www.zayednationalmuseum.ae/
http://www.artsabudhabi.ae/en/

Zayed National Museum Set to Further Raise UAE’s Profile on the World’s Cultural Map

In memory of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the museum will reflect his life and work as well as the rich history of the UAE

• Design of UAE’s first major national cultural institution unveiled.
• Zayed National Museum is part of the Saadiyat Island Cultural District, central to the plan to build Abu Dhabi’s reputation as an international centre of culture.
• A narrative that presents the life of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan‎, his achievements and core values, in the context of the rich history of the UAE and the connections of the nation to the wider world.
• Environmental sustainability, a key element in the Museum’s design and architecture.
• Construction of the museum is scheduled for completion in 2014.

Abu Dhabi, 25 November 2010: Today, the design and program of the Zayed National Museum was presented in Abu Dhabi. This is the UAE’s first national museum that will feature the life and achievements of the founding President of the United Arab Emirates, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The museum, which will bring to life the UAE’s rich history, will also serve as a memorial to Sheikh Zayed and is set to stand alongside the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the Louvre Abu Dhabi
amongst the iconic Saadiyat Island Cultural District’s institutions.

The design for the Zayed National Museum was officially unveiled today by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. Set amongst lush gardens, the design features five soaring pavilions, representing the feathers of a falcon’s wing, reaching a height of 124 metres, towering over the glittering waters of the Arabian Gulf.

Commenting on the launch, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE said: “The Zayed National Museum is destined to become an inspiring permanent reminder of the vision handed down to us from the father of our nation, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to unite all Emiratis and build a strong and prosperous nation. As a fitting memorial and a national institution, the museum will serve as a symbol of our historic cultural roots and of the many
achievements of our country, providing us with an incentive to continue building our country with the same will and determination.”

Scheduled for completion in 2014, the Zayed National Museum also stands as a symbol of the modernity of the UAE, and its rapid progression over the past forty years. The spirit of excellence and endeavour and great faith in the future of the Emirati people has been behind the fundamental growth in economic, social, education and health sectors, and the museum will help ensure that future generations can appreciate the enormity of these changes.

At the unveiling today, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai stated: “The Zayed National Museum, named after our beloved leader, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, will be a template of the UAE’s cultural traditions, set in the midst of our nation’s glorious heritage. It is with great pride that we keep his memory alive and close to our hearts.“

The museum will showcase Sheikh Zayed’s story and the lasting influence of his reforms. Sheikh Zayed’s concept of a modernised nation determined by strong guiding principles of education, culture, faith and the protection of the environment made him one of the world’s most respected leaders.

Commenting on the museum His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown  Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces said: “The Zayed  National Museum will serve as an educational testimonial for generations to come, enlightening many  of our rich and varied past, and providing a glimpse to our future prospects, to be achieved through  wise leadership that will hold a strong will and vision.  Sheikh Zayed was a father, a leader and an  inspiration to the people of the UAE and the world, and here lies the importance of the ‘Zayed  National Museum’ which will not only represent a reference and testament to these achievements but  also an incentive towards further prosperity and progress to the people of the UAE and the world.  His Highness added that every visitor of the museum will carry the unique attributes of Sheikh Zayed’s  values that inspired the entire humanity through his kindness and forgiveness as well as his  achievements.”

The museum, designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect, Lord Norman Foster of Foster + Partners, following an international competition, is being developed by Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), the master developer of Saadiyat Island. The Zayed National Museum utilises sophisticated architectural techniques with a special focus on environmental sustainability, which was an essential element of Sheikh Zayed’s worldview.

The museum emerges from a landscaped oasis, which celebrates Sheikh Zayed’s legacy of ‘greening the desert’. While it is designed in harmony with its surrounding environment it is indeed an iconic reflection of Sheikh Zayed’s powerful vision.

The design of the museum draws inspiration from falconry, a powerful symbol in the UAE and part of its cultural heritage and way of life, with five towers reminiscent of the wing tips of the birds. The design also serves to deliver environmental advantages, as the buildings are positioned to channel air through the museum, reducing the energy demands required to cool the complex. The towers are also designed to take advantage of the regions constant sunshine, with carefully positioned openings drawing light in to illuminate the interior spaces in a creative manner.

In 2009, TDIC also signed an agreement with the British Museum to provide expert advice and counsel on the development of the Zayed National Museum and help realise the vision of this museum in translating the values of Sheikh Zayed in an interpretive plan that will enhance the core messages of a national museum.

The visitor experience will begin outside the Museum in the gardens, where landscaping, planting and installations will translate the timeline and key moments in the life of Sheikh Zayed and his transformation of Abu Dhabi and the UAE. The Museum atrium will provide an anchor for every visitor experience, as it will be a starting pointing for the national story and a meeting point that will guide the visitor experience.

The heart of the museum lies in the Sheikh Zayed: Life and Times gallery. Here the life story of Sheikh Zayed and his unification of the UAE will be told through film, audio and multimedia with artefacts drawn from collections in Abu Dhabi, the UAE and abroad. Visitors will come to know Sheikh Zayed and experience at first-hand his challenges and triumphs as he successfully worked to forge the nation.

The Sheikh Zayed Library is the natural complement to the Sheikh Zayed: Life and Times Gallery.
The gallery will present the principal narrative of man and state, and the library will enable visitors to learn more about Sheikh Zayed and his transformative role in the history of Abu Dhabi. Research facilities will provide access to original and electronic historical and cultural sources and will link the museum to worldwide research centres.

A gallery devoted to Falconry and Conservation will focus on Sheikh Zayed’s appreciation of the natural world, its conservation and preservation, as well as his passion for falconry.
Falconry has been practised for thousands of years, not just in the Middle East but across the world.
Arising as a way of hunting in the desert, it eventually evolved into a pastime enjoyed by many. Its  popularity brought increasing awareness of the need to manage the natural environment.

Sheikh Zayed understood the importance of the conservation of wildlife and the land, which became a central tenet of his philosophy.

The core values of Sheikh Zayed introduced in the narrative of the lower floor galleries will be carried through in more detail in the upper floor galleries:

Land and Water: Archaeological, historical material and interactive displays will show how people in the past learned to use, cultivate and trade the region’s key resources. The good husbandry of land and water was admired by Sheikh Zayed, and alongside his wise use of oil and water resources, visitors will learn how he built a framework that has established the UAE as a leader in sustainable development.

People and Heritage: Sheikh Zayed understood the importance of the values and heritage of his people. Traditional values are at the heart of the UAE’s political and cultural life. Success in the modern world had been underpinned by an emphasis on human relationships and connections between different groups. Patterns established in the pre-oil era, when lives were closely identified with the seasons and the landscape, have produced a social cohesion that invigorates the country today.

History and Society: Sheikh Zayed was instrumental in the discovery of major archaeological sites in the UAE that fundamentally rewrote the history of the region and its connections with the wider world.
The land that makes up the modern UAE has a long history of human settlement. Home to Stone Age peoples 200,000 years ago, the region eventually saw, around 5000 BC, the emergence of maritime trade with Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq) and later with India and Pakistan. Also, Emirati sailors reached China 2000 years ago. Archaeological evidence shows that the region has played a major part in the development of Middle Eastern civilisations.

Rich archaeological material and historical documents drawn from across the UAE, and set alongside contextual objects from around the globe, will chart this long history from 200,000 BC to the creation of the modern state by Sheikh Zayed who recognised the importance of such unity. Drawing on model states of the past, he led the UAE to federation and established the country as a significant player on the global stage.

Science and Learning: Sheikh Zayed was passionate about education; he transformed a society based on traditional learning to a nation where widespread literacy and numeracy lead to a fully fledged contemporary knowledge society.

The value of education that inspired him drew on a long tradition of Middle Eastern scholarship.
Language and literature, navigation and medicine are among the many disciplines in which knowledge in the Islamic world would revolutionise what we know and the way we think.

Visitors to this gallery will encounter fascinating artefacts from the fields of science and learning.
Interactive exhibits will also permit them to engage directly with scientific tools and techniques, trying their hand at historical mechanisms for telling the time or using traditional methods to navigate the sea and the desert.

Faith and Islam: Sheikh Zayed was a profoundly religious leader and his humanitarianism was based on the tenets of Islam. Providing a contemplative space, the displays will encourage visitors to learn not just the meaning of Islam, as conveyed through the life and actions of Sheikh Zayed, but its history, practice and place among the many faiths in the modern UAE.

Islam has been an essential element of continuity in a region that has witnessed extraordinarily rapid change. Longstanding religious practice will be demonstrated through beautifully calligraphed manuscripts, models of mosques and other honoured objects, while contemporary photography, voices and film will convey the expression of Islam today, where faith infuses every aspect of life in the modern UAE.

The Zayed National Museum has been founded in the spirit of Sheikh Zayed’s work on behalf of Emiratis and people everywhere. It will be a place for all, reflecting Sheikh Zayed’s renowned warmth that he extended to people from all walks of life.

Inauguración de los Príncipes de Asturias de ARCOmadrid_2010 Copyright Victor Garrido

February 13 – 17, 2013
http://www.arco.ifema.es

Album name: redactor / Inauguración y actos/ Opening and events Copyright: Pablo Mesegar IFEMA

AAF_ponte di ferro_stazione di Porta Genova, Milano @Photo by Raffaella Losapio 1.2.2012

The Affordable Art Fair Milano 2013
7 -10 Marzo 2013 | SuperstudioPiù | Milano

Affordable Art Fair Milano …. is back!
Al via i preparativi per la terza edizione.

Torna Affordable Art Fair Milano, la principale fiera internazionale per l’arte contemporanea con un limite di prezzo. Nata a Londra nel 1999 da un’idea di Will Ramsay, AAF si propone lo scopo di rendere l’arte più comprensibile e accessibile. L’obiettivo è infatti quello di divulgare l’arte contemporanea in modo divertente, non convenzionale e creativo, coinvolgendo un pubblico giovane e incoraggiando un nuovo collezionismo. Circa il 70% dei visitatori ha un’età compresa tra i 25 e i 50 anni e oltre il 50% dei visitatori compra ad AAF la sua prima opera d’arte.

.-.-.-.

The Affordable Art Fair Milano 2012
2- 5 Febbraio 2012
Superstudio Più, via Tortona 27
info@affordableartfair.it – www.affordableartfair.it

The inaugural italian edition of the Affordable Art Fair in February 2011, held at SuperstudioPiù, in Milan, was a major success, drawing over 9.000 visitors for the 60 galleries participating and resulting in sales of 1 million of artworks. Over 400 journalist attended!

AAF continues to be a successful formula, and is the leading showcase internationally for contemporary art under € 5.000 with yearly events in 10 cities and 4 continents (and ever-increasing all over the world).

It continues to remove the barriers to buying contemporary art, attracting both people who do not usually frequent galleries, as well as those who do. From first time buyers to seasoned collectors: the AAF shows that art can be accessible for everyone.

AAF Milan 2012 extends itself: 4000 sq.m of total area, 75 international galleries, a greater communication and marketing plan, with important media partnerships that will assure a great exposure, as well as our large outdoor advertising campaign (subway stops, trains, trams). We expect more than 12,000 visitors and a proportionate increase of art sales.

AAF Milano 2012
The Affordable Art Fair Milano
2-5 Febbraio 2012
Superstudio Più | via Tortona 27
La principale fiera internazionale per l’arte contemporanea al di sotto dei 5.000 €

DOPO IL SUCCESSO DELLA PRIMA EDIZIONE ITALIANA, AFFORDABLE ART FAIR RITORNA A MILANO.
PIU’ SPAZIO, PIU’ GALLERIE, PIU’ ARTE…PER UN GRANDE EVENTO INTERNAZIONALE!

Wrapping

“AAF”, presente ogni anno in 10 città e 4 continenti, è una delle fiere d’arte contemporanea più visitate al mondo, con 175 milioni di euro di opere vendute e con un numero di visitatori che raggiungerà prima di Milano il milione di unità.

Per l’edizione milanese 2012 sono attesi più di 12.000 visitatori, dopo i più di 9.000 della prima edizione. Le gallerie partecipanti, in seguito a una grande richiesta, sono aumentate da 60 a 75 e di conseguenza anche lo spazio espositivo è cresciuto: 4000 metri quadrati garantiranno spazio alle opere di artisti internazionali e ai tanti servizi offerti dalla fiera.

Tante sono le novità di questa seconda edizione milanese. Concorsi, incontri con esperti del settore, collaborazioni importanti e tanto altro! Il grande successo della principale fiera internazionale per l’arte con un limite di prezzo è garantito dall’essere un luogo giovane e dinamico, dove ammirare, senza pressioni e in clima divertente, opere d’arte che vanno dalla pittura alla scultura, alle edizioni limitate fino alla fotografia, e incontrare artisti, curatori ed esperti del mondo dell’arte contemporanea. L’accessibilità è garantita anche da prezzi obbligatoriamente esposti.

I servizi di “AAF” aiuteranno i nuovi ed esistenti collezionisti ad approcciare il mondo dell’arte: una wrapping station che permette un servizio di imballaggio per portare direttamente a casa le opere comprate, uno spazio bimbi con laboratori d’arte creati ad hoc per i più piccoli e uno spazio workshop con dimostrazioni pratiche delle tecniche artistiche, aperti a tutti e gratuiti.

“AAF” quest’anno offre anche un’occasione ad artisti non rappresentati da una galleria di avere una vetrina speciale. Grazie all’iniziativa ‘AAF cerca Young Talents’ avranno luogo delle letture portfolii (prima dell’inizio della fiera, a fine novembre e gennaio) in cui una giuria competente selezionerà le opere migliori e gli artisti vincitori avranno a disposizione uno spazio di visibilità e vendita all’interno della fiera: lo spazio Young Talents. In fiera, quindi, si avrà la possibilità di acquistare le opere di artisti emergenti e promettenti, provenienti in molti casi dalle migliori scuole d’arte.

Spiccano inoltre importanti partnership con aziende (da Lago a Bisol, fino a Mikamai e Epson) che daranno ad “AAF” visibilità e professionalità; oltre ad importanti media partnership (tra cui Corriere della Sera/Vivimilano, City, Artribune, Art&Dossier, Ars) e una divertente e massiccia campagna pubblicitaria di “AAF” che “attraverserà” Milano su tram, metropolitane, cartellonistica, riviste e web..per mostrare le nuove promesse artistiche, gli investimenti e i trend dell’arte del 2012!

visitors

ENTRA NEL MONDO DI AAF!
http://www.vimeo.com/30301944

AAF The Affordable Art Fair Milano
2-5 Febbraio 2012 a Supertudio Più
Via Tortona, 27
inaugurazione | anteprima
mercoledi 1 febbraio 2012
18.00-22.00
su invito

molte altre informazioni
www.affordableartfair.it

per informazioni e materiale stampa
DOPPIOZERO. servizi per l’arte contemporanea
info@doppiozeroOO.com
www.doppiozero00.com
+ 39 328 8394698 | 347 188 03 03

tram

AAF Milano 2012
The Affordable Art Fair Milano
2-5 Febbraio 2012
Superstudio Più | via Tortona 27
La principale fiera internazionale per l’arte contemporanea al di sotto dei 5.000 €

Al VIA IL PROGETTO “AAF CERCA YOUNG TALENTS”
rivolto ai giovani artisti per contribuire alla loro formazione e al loro inserimento nel sistema del mercato dell’arte contemporanea.

Affordable Art Fair con il patrocinio e il sostegno del GAI – Associazione per il Circuiti dei Giovani Artisti Italiani – e la collaborazione di LagoDesign, Artnetworth, e il settimanale A, annuncia l’avvio del progetto “AAF cerca Young Talents” per la selezione di giovani artisti che avranno la possibilità di esporre le loro opere ad AAF – Affordable Art Fair da 2 al 5 Febbraio 2012 presso Superstudio Più, via Tortona 27, Milano.

Buyer1

Il progetto vuole essere un sostegno alla formazione e un investimento concreto sul futuro dell’ arte contemporanea italiana, promuovendo giovani talenti e rendendo tangibile l’aiuto a giovani artisti sconosciuti.

Sei un pittore, un fotografo, un designer, uno scultore? Hai un portfolio delle tue opere e idee ma non sai ancora a chi e dove presentarlo? Ecco una proposta che fa per te!

AAF dà la possibilità ad alcuni giovani talenti che operano con obiettivi professionali nel settore delle arti visive che si esprimono in diversi ambiti con diverse tecniche e mezzi artistici, e in età compresa tra i 18 e i 35 anni, di sottoporre i propri portfolii ad una giuria di esperti durante due appuntamenti dedicati.

I progetti ritenuti migliori saranno poi selezionati per essere esposti durante la fiera AAF dal 2 al 5 Febbraio 2012.

Paul Walking

LE DATE:
Il bando si apre il 1 Novembre 2011 e si chiude il 31 Dicembre 2011 termine ultimo per iscriversi alle giornate di lettura portfolio e avere l’opportunità di presentare i propri progetti ad esperti.

Date Lettura Portfolii:
- 1 appuntamento 29 Novembre dalle 17.00 alle 20.00 ( max partecipanti n: 50)
presso Appartamento Lago , via Brera 30, Milano
- 2 appuntamento 12 Gennaio 2012 dalle 17.00 alle 20.00( max partecipanti n: 50)
presso Appartamento Lago via Brera 30, Milano

Altre informazioni riguardo alle modalità di partecipazione sono disponibili sul sito www.affordableartfair.it
sezione eventi e sulla Fb AAF Fan page. info@affordableartfair.it
per informazioni e materiale stampa
DOPPIOZERO. servizi per l’arte contemporanea
info@doppiozeroOO.com
+ 39 328 8394698 | 347 188 03 03

Position the cursor on the images to view captions, click on images to enlarge them. 

Posizionare il cursore sulle immagini per leggere le didascalie; cliccare sulle immagini per ingrandirle.

Realization: 2013
National Museum of Qatar
www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/arts/design/23doha.htm
www.jeannouvel.com

The museum’s architecture and structure symbolise the mysteries of the desert’s concretions and crystallisations, suggesting the interlocking pattern of the bladelike petals of the desert rose.
Designers: Jean Nouvel – Studio: Ateliers Jean Nouvel

Marseille, vue du Vieux-­‐Port. Crédit photographique: ville de Marseille

1st JANUARY – 31 DECEMBER 2013
MARSEILLE-PROVENCE 2013 – EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE

Marseille-Provence has been selected to be the European Capital of Culture in 2013. All year long, hundreds of cultural and artistic events will take place throughout the Provence region: in Aix-en-Provence, Arles, Aubagne, Gardanne, Istres, La Ciotat, Martigues, Salon-de-Provence and, of course, Marseille.

On the menu: dance, music, visual arts, theatre, exhibitions, street art, literature, digital art, gastronomy and cinema.

Visitors will be invited to take part in events at museums, theatres and open-air venues in both urban areas and natural environments. Marseille-Provence 2013: an unmissable event.

Quartiers Créatifs, Stefan Shankland Quartier des Hauts-­‐de-­‐Mazargue Crédit photographique: Sylvain Duffard

Une capitale européenne de la culture située au bord de la Méditerranée, dans un territoire urbain si vaste et singulier, ne peut qu’être hantée par une géographie sillonnée de voyages, de rencontres, de grandes expéditions.

Marseille, née de la Méditerranée, est tout à la fois marine et terrienne. D’Aix-en-Provence à Marseille, d’Arles à La Ciotat, se déploie une immense aire urbaine réunissant une centaine de communes. Trois grands aspects en définissent la singularité : les sociabilités interculturelles, la relation ville-nature et les cultures urbaines. Marseille-Provence 2013 a puisé l’esprit de sa programmation dans cette vitalité culturelle et sociale unique.

Un fil rouge traverse toute la programmation, qui se construit à la manière d’un récit composé de trois épisodes. Le thème du récit, c’est la Méditerranée, le dialogue des deux rives, « le partage des midis ». On le retrouve dans les « Ateliers de l’EuroMéditerranée », dans les grandes expositions qui scandent l’année, dans le programme des festivals,

dans les commandes artistiques, dans les projets littéraires, musicaux, cinématographiques, théâtraux et, enfin, dans les ateliers de participation citoyenne.

Trois épisodes composent le récit.

L’épisode 1, « Marseille Provence accueille le monde », met en lumière la tradition de l’hospitalité, le cosmopolitisme, le rapport à l’autre. Fondement des cérémonies, fêtes et événements de l’ouverture, il témoigne de la richesse et du foisonnement des nouvelles formes artistiques dans les villes, des nouveaux « territoires de l’art ». Comme, par exemple, le projet This is (not) music.

L’épisode 2 « Marseille Provence à ciel ouvert », privilégie, au cours de l’été, les relations à la nature, les parcours, les spectacles et les concerts sous les étoiles, dans des sites inédits.

L’épisode 3 « Marseille Provence aux mille visages », met l’accent sur l’art et le vivre ensemble dans l’espace public, les nouvelles écritures contemporaines, les œuvres composées pour l’enfance et la jeunesse, et enfin sur quelques figures emblématiques de l’histoire de l’art et de la pensée méditerranéenne.

À cette construction par épisodes s’ajoute une traversée du territoire par plusieurs projets mobiles ou projets circulants qui inscrivent l’idée de parcours et de mobilité au centre des programmations de l’année. Ce sera le GR 2013 ou le Pompidou mobile, les Écrans voyageurs ou Phèdre, le projet Ulysse ou les Grandes Carrioles. Ces projets circulants permettront à des publics très éclatés de partager des moments placés sous le signe de la rencontre.

Chaque épisode s’ouvrira par un zoom sur une discipline artistique ou un temps fort, assemblant plusieurs événements majeurs comme l’inauguration de nouveaux édifices culturels, l’ouverture d’expositions.

Position the cursor on the images to view captions, click on images to enlarge them. 

Posizionare il cursore sulle immagini per leggere le didascalie; cliccare sulle immagini per ingrandirle.

07 – 11 November 2012
Saadiyat Cultural District
Abu Dhabi, UAE
abudhabiartfair.ae

Abu Dhabi Art, much more than an art fair, is a platform for modern and contemporary art bringing together a selection of leading art galleries from across the world, creating the catalyst for the global art movement at the heart of Abu Dhabi and encouraging cultural exchange. The event which attracted more than 17,000 visitors last year will again host a comprehensive set of elements including exhibitions and public programmes.

http://www.abudhabiartfair.ae/en/ for further details.

Local press:
Amanda Buckley  +971 (4) 446 6284

International press:
Damian Chandler +44 207 936 1273

The 8th 2010 Shanghai Biennale_Shanghai Art Museum_ Ph:by Kong Bai Ji

9th Shanghai Biennale 2012
The press conference will be held in Shanghai Art Museum at 14:00p.m.on October 22^nd
http://www.shanghaibiennale.org

I. A New Beginning for the Shanghai Biennale 

The 9th Shanghai Biennale in 2012 will be the inaugural show for Shanghai Contemporary Art Museum housed in a restored industrial building that used to be a thermal power plant. This marks a new beginning for the Shanghai Biennale in its 16 years of history.

The site of the Shanghai Biennale will move from the colonial building of Shanghai Art Museum that was part of the Shanghai Horseracing Course to a restored building that once was “Nanshi Power Plant”. As we are witnessing a shift of the nation’s attention from economic indicators to comprehensive social progress, the Shanghai Biennale has also seen transformations in its theme, which include:
Transformation from an experimental ground for various contemporary art media to a provider of solutions for social problems;

Transformation from focusing on building the right cultural infrastructure to the rebirth of a truly contemporary culture;
Transformation from learning from international biennales to actively engaging in find solutions for international cultural predicament.

Shanghai Contemporary Art Museum sits in an old industrial cluster that was the birthplace of Chinese modern industry. The building served as the venue for the impressive theme pavilion of “Pavilion of Future” during 2010 Shanghai World Expo.  The cultural heritage of the building can be linked to a series of topics such as the past, the future and rebirth, showcasing the profound interaction between various historical forces.

Like other restoring projects for industrial sites, the thermal plant building restoration aims to more than reuse old resources and  tries to contribute to the rethinking and redesign of the entire urban ecosystem. Cities are places for people to lead a gregarious life, as we all wish to communicate with other people. After hundreds of years of industrial development, cities are renewing themselves each and every day.  They import and consume energy and export it at the same time.  Cities in 2012 are hubs for the integration of and exchanges between human and natural resources and information as well as spaces for people to converse, interact and mingle. Individuals with different identities, memoires and sensibilities become a collective entity and build the so-called “society”. Such a collective will is the most important factor for the survival of a city.

The theme of 2012 Shanghai Biennale will be “RE-Form/Public/Source/…”. Based on new research on resources and energy, the curating team will study the energy of sites, memories, will, comprehension and, ultimately, the community.

II. Theme of 2012 Shanghai Biennale: Reactivation

Energy collection in the pre-industrial period was restrained by geographical locations, climate and limited amount of certain resources. Many centuries before there was a shortage of natural resources, we see the development of an introspective way of energy discovery in the Orient. Masters in the East focused their attention on the energy hidden inside themselves and created qigong, a system of deep breathing exercises, and yoga to unleash such energy.

In modern days, energy is obtained through exploitation of natural resources, which might only be found in remote places. People have been exploring, mining and distributing energy in places more and more remote or deep down in the earth. Until today, this is the most common way and has led to conflicts and wars for energy. Efforts to develop new energy, on the other hand, will not save us from uneven distribution of resources despite its environment friendly cover. The critical problem is that people still look outward for energy. They will dig deep into the earth or ocean and they will even venture into the space with the support of enough capital. Following such a logic, programs with very good intentions, such as the biodiesel program, would lead to food price increase globally and contribute to regional famine. In the mean time, people might be torn between putting all their hope on a rosy future and worrying about upcoming doomsday.

To address this issue, we need to look at other ways to obtain energy and find energy from the collective. For example, on cold winter days when we are kids, we would not use a stove to keep us warm. Instead, we would cuddle with each other. Energy is not some hidden treasure waiting to be discovered; it comes from collective consciousness. The difference between others and us is the source of our energy. Thus, it is truly sustainable to protect others in the society. “Others” are our new mine.

Energy is born out of a collective. That’s why we are interested in artists and their creative approaches who are able to “do work”. There are many such artists around the world who, instead of consuming energy by using a large number of things in their works, manage to turn their works into generators and export energy to their networks. They have built their own collectives to study the sharing, transformation, adaptation, resonance and magnifying of energy and bring out the inherent energy in any social context.  They work in the fields, on the streets and in the neighborhoods, integrating their creative work in the reconstruction of social energy. They are ready to break away from existing boundaries of artistic concepts and mechanisms. Such artworks with a touch of “total art” connect individuals with the collective, others with self, labor with creation,  everyday routines with miracles.

We are interested in artists that can motivate the public, revisit or rewrite history, convert and transform energy and organize dialogues and communications. They also form the four components of the themed exhibition in the 2012 Shanghai Biennale.

The 2012 Shanghai Biennale will focus on issues such as art education, art and the self-organization of the society, knowledge production and common destiny and a series of special projects will be arranged. Discussions on art theories, an indispensible part of any biennale, will be conducted in a short-term training program so that the discussions are not limited to a small group of experts and the public can be motivated and educated.

For the first time in its history, the 2012 Shanghai Biennale will also feature city pavilions by inviting energy-generating institutions and individuals from a variety of cities to curate their own exhibitions.

It is customary for the Biennale to look at the cultural development of its host city of Shanghai. The 2000 edition, themed “Spirit of Shanghai”, discussed the modernity of the city  of Shanghai; the 2002 edition with the theme of “Urban Creation” focused in the creation of urban spaces; the 2004 edition of “Techniques of the Visible” reflected on urban media and culture, the 2006 edition of “Hyper Design” was about urban fashion and consumption; the 2008 version of “Translocalmotion” shed light on the issue of migrants; and the 2010 version of “Rehearsal” used the city as a stage and presented the urban cultural ecosystem to the audience. Over the years, there is a clear thread linking all the versions of the Biennale, giving it a distinctive style in the world of biennales. The addition of city pavilions for the 2012 Shanghai Biennale is a natural step forward, which is made possible by the new venue of the Shanghai Contemporary Art Museum.

The addition of city pavilions to Shanghai Biennale will make it an organizer for the “community of destiny and energy” and can be considered a “RE-Form” of the Biennale in the diverse city of Shanghai. The curating team would like to study the significance of “interdependence” by looking at the original motivations behind the creation of cities.

Cities that most suit the theme of the 2012 Biennale will be invited. These city pavilions and other interrelated components, namely the themed exhibition, special exhibitions, education program and opening performance, will form a solid framework for the  Biennale.

The idea behind “RE-Form/Public/Source/…” is not relocating a power plant to a place far away from the city, or generating power with renewable energy. Rather, it is an opportunity for us to think about how we live. When the site of the power plant becomes alive again, it doesn’t generate any power in the traditional sense. Instead, it creates spiritual pulses that would activate the inherent energy within a community.

III. Framework of 2012 Shanghai Biennale

Themed Exhibition

The themed exhibition will be composed of four parts, namely “Resource”, “Renew”, “Reform” and “Republic”, which would focus on artists that can motivate the public, revisit or rewrite history, convert and transform energy and organize dialogues and communications respectively.

1. Resource
“Resource” will look at art education, open colleges and art academies in various cities as well as the individual work of artists as educators and motivators. Their art activities serve as power generators, providing a motive force for social transformation.

2. Renew
“Renew” will look at the rebirth of abandoned places, such as the restoration of old industrial cities and communities, the revival of traditional craftsmanship and building of new villages. It will show efforts around the world to revisit and rebuild history.

3. Reform
“Reform” will look at artists whose works can detect, transform and convert energy. They are constantly shifting between a vision for problem-free future and fear for an approaching doomsday and can never stop. Their works constitute a process parallel with “Reform”.

4. Republic
 “Republic” means the networking and resonating of energy. It will look at how artists and the public jointly build a dynamic community and support each other in communal work and artistic creation. Thanks to such a lively self-organization, the foundation of our society is reconstructed.

Special Exhibitions

1. Shanghai Ark
During the Second World War, Jewish people were prosecuted by Germany and most European countries refused to take Jewish refugees for fear of Germany retaliation. China, on the other hand, opened its door. Over 30,000 Jewish refugees fled to Shanghai. This special exhibition will show photos of Shanghai taken by these refugees as well as paintings by a Jewish artist, which will showcase how people survived in disasters by supporting each other. This exhibition corresponds to the “Republic” component in the themed exhibition and is a tribute to the great city of Shanghai.

2. Zhongshan Park Project
People in ancient China are bonded by blood and the public space in any community is usually the family ancestral temple and places important in the daily life, such as wells. After the end of the agricultural era, China started to transform itself from a traditional society to a modern nation. And new forms of public places were born. Parks named “Zhongshan Park” that can be seen in almost every city and town in China is a typical example. They functioned as a scenic spot and a political, entertainment, cultural and sports venue. They could also be a museum and library.  Such parks were named after Dr. Sun Yat-sen (or Sun Zhongshan with modern spelling). After Dr. Sun passed away in 1927, cities across the nation transformed private or royal gardens into public parks and named many of them “Zhongshan Park”. This represents the shift from blood recognition to national recognition. In the process, “subjects” were transformed into “citizens” in China. Research on Zhongshan parks will inevitably lead to profound thinking about Chinese modern culture and history, in particular, about the building of a visual culture in the process of modernization.

The Zhongshan Park Project will start before the official opening of the Shanghai Biennale.  It will start from Hakka ancestral temples in west Fujian Province and show artworks of Chinese artists living abroad and move to Zhongshan parks in Zhangzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou and a cluster of cities in  south Fujian that would show artworks by Taiwanese artists in the sectors of film, music and visual art. Then it will travel across the Taiwan Strait and show works by artists from mainland China in cities such as Taipei and Taichung. In the end, it will come back to Zhongshan Park in Shanghai during the Biennale. This project plans to collect memories of citizens in the cities it visits and reflect on the traditional and modern elements of tribal recognition. It corresponds to the revisit of history in the “Republic” and “Renew” parts in the themed exhibition.

City Pavilions

It is the first time for the Shanghai Biennale to include city pavilions and will help the organizers of the Biennale to determine whether this will become a permanent part of future biennales.

The 2012 Shanghai Biennale will invite cities that are closely related to the exhibition theme and the city of Shanghai. Some small-sized cities that may not be well-known may be invited.

The Biennale will work with relevant cultural institutions in these cities. And these pavilions will be housed in Shanghai Contemporary Art Museum or other art spaces.

Currently, we have received positive feedback from cities such as Mumbai, Istanbul, Tehran, Hong Kong, Taipei, London, Barcelona, Ulaanbaatar and Berlin. The Biennale is talking with these cities on exhibition details. The curating team is confident about the realization of this bold project.

Opening Performance: Resonance

The Shanghai Contemporary Art Museum sits by the Huangpu river on the Jiangnan Square of the former World Expo site, a perfect theater. On the opening nights and many nights after that, there will by dynamic multimedia shows that will resonate with the audience.

Near the entrance of the Contemporary Art Museum, there will be a large-scale multimedia 3D Mapping projection show on the history of the museum building: it housed a factory workshop that produced the first light bulb in Shanghai during the Westernization Drive period and then served as a power plant; it later became a pavilion in the 2010 World Expo and is now the venue for the new Contemporary Art Museum. Multimedia light shows and interactive performances will turn this place into a theater that brings back people’s memories of old factories.

Many of the highlights in the performance will be revealed at a later stage and the show is going to amaze both professionals and the public.

Educational Program: The Academy of Reciprocal Enlightenment

The theme of the 2012 Shanghai Biennale implies the critical role of education. Thus, the curating team decides to place seminars, lectures and other communication events into the framework of a short-term training program. The program will be included in the autumn semester of the School of Inter-media Art in China Academy of Art and starts in the installation period of the Biennale. It plans to invite international experts to give lectures and offer on-line courses. Students will be presented with a certificate when they finish the program.

The program is named “The Academy of Reciprocal Enlightenment”, as “Academy” refers to a Platonic-style community of wisdom and criticism. It embodies our educational philosophy: education is a self-governing action by learner communities, which serve as a platform of exchanges and dissemination of opinions.

The curriculum of the program includes:
“Inter-media art master class” for young artists, “life education and art therapy community course” in cooperation with local communities in Shanghai, “creative development class for children” and “training class for art and culture journalists”.

IV. Highlights of 2012 Shanghai Biennale

The 20102 Shanghai Biennale will be held in a new venue and include a wider range of components. The following are its highlights:
1.The 2012 Shanghai Biennale will be relocated to the new Shanghai Contemporary Art Museum, marking a new beginning for the Biennale. There will be major changes in the curatorial concepts correspondingly.
2.There will be city pavilions for the first time. This is the sign of openness of the city.
3.There is a clearer connection with social issues. A number of “generator-style” artists will be included in the Biennale.
4.The special programs will feature large number of participants from many cities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and will look deep into these cities’ history.
5.The opening multimedia show will be sensational and full of surprises.
6.All theoretical components will be covered by the short-term academy program and course in the program will target the general public.
7.The artist Qiu Zhijie is the chief curator for this Biennale. So the Biennale will highlight the emotional experience of visitors and adopt a unique curatorial methodology.

V. Curating Team of 2012 Shanghai Biennale

With a comprehensive framework, the 2012 Shanghai Biennale features a variety of projects and, thus, needs a relatively big curating team. There will be three kinds of curators. The “Chief Curator” chooses several international curators as “Co-Curators”, who jointly will be the think-tank for this Biennale and responsible for selecting participating artists.

The various components of the themed exhibition, city pavilions and special projects will be curated and executed by another group of international and domestic curators.

Chief Curator: QIU Zhijie

Chief Curator: QIU Zhijie

Qiu Zhijie is a professor at the School of Inter-media Art of China Art Academy, the Director of Total Art Studio and member of the supervisor team in the Art and Social Thoughts Institute. As an active artist, Qiu’s artworks take a variety of forms such as calligraphy, painting, photography, video, installation and theater and have been shown a large number of art museums across the world. His works are collected by individual and institutional collectors home and abroad. His solo exhibitions are held in art museums such as Haus of World Culture in Berlin 2009, Ullens Contemporary Art Center in Beijing in 2009 and Zendai Museum of Modern Art in Shanghai in 2008. He participated in exhibitions such as the 53rd Venice Biennale, 25th Sao Paulo Biennale and “New Art in China, Post-1989”.

He is also a prolific and influential writer and has published many art theory books such as “Image and Post-modernism”, “Give Me A Mask”, “The Boundary of Freedom”, “The Scene is Most Important”, “Photography After Photography”, “Basic Course in Total Art Creation”. His latest book “On Total Art” is going to be published soon.

Since 2003, Qiu has been teaching in the Total Art Studio of China Academy of Art. He proposed ways to develop the concept of “total art” and created a dynamic force in the context of formal art education and Chinese contemporary art institutions. Based on cultural studies, the teaching and artistic creation in the studio borrows heavily from sociology, archeology and media studies and relies on tools such as social investigation, symbol analysis and art events to intervene with the daily life, creating a sophisticated cultural production model that combines observation, action, installation, live art, event art, writing and curating.

Qiu Zhijie curated “Phenomena and Image” in 1996, a series of exhibitions with the theme of “Post-sense Sensibility” between 1999 and 2004, “Long March, A Walking Visual Display” in 2002, the video part of the First Guangzhou Triennial and “Archeology of Future: The Second Triennial of Chinese Art” in 2005.

Co-Curators:

Boris Efimovich Groys

Born on 19 March 1947 in Berlin, Germany, Boris Efimovich Groys is an art critic, media theorist and philosopher. He is currently a Global Distinguished Professor of Russian and Slavic Studies at New York University and Senior Research Fellow at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design in Karlsruhe, Germany. He has been a professor of Aesthetics, Art History, and Media Theory at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design/Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe and an internationally acclaimed Professor at a number of universities in the United States and Europe, including the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California and the Courtauld Institute of Art London.

Groys has curated numerous exhibitions, including:

♦ Fluchtpunkt Moskau at Ludwig Forum (1994 Aachen, Germany)
♦ Dream Factory Communism at the Schirn Gallery (2003-2004 Frankfurt, Germany)
♦ Privatizations at the KW Institute of Contemporary Art (2004 Berlin, Germany)
♦ Total Enlightenment: Conceptual Art in Moscow 1960–1990 (2008-2009 at Kunsthalle Schirn in Frankfurt,  Germany, and Fondacion March in Madrid, Spain).

He co-curated the exhibition Medium Religion with Peter Weibel at the Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, (2009 Karlsruhe, Germany). Groys will be the curator of the Russian Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale 2011.

Jens Hoffmann

Born in 1974 in San José, Costa Rica, Jens Hoffmann is a writer and exhibition organizer. He has organized exhibitions since 1997 and is currently the Director of the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts at the California College of the Arts in San Francisco. From 2003 to 2007, Hoffmann was the Director of Exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London. He has curated over 30 exhibitions internationally since the late 1990s. He was a co-curator of the 2nd San Juan Triennial, Puerto Rico, 2009, and co-curator, with Adriano Pedrosa, of the 12th International Istanbul Biennial in 2011.

With Harrell Fletcher, Hoffmann developed the People’s Biennial, presented in 2010 at five US museums, organized by Independent Curators International in New York.

He is the founding editor of the The Exhibitionist: A Journal for Exhibition Making and Editor-at-large for Mousse Magazine. He is an assistant professor at the Curatorial Practice Program of the California College of the Arts in San Francisco and a guest professor at the Nova Academia di Bella Arti in Milan. He has written more than 150 articles on art and curatorial practice for art magazines and museum publications. His most recent books include The Next Documenta Should be Curated by An Artist (ed.) (Revolver 2004, Frankfurt), Perform, co-authored with Joan Jonas, (Thames & Hudson 2005, London). He is currently authoring SHOW TIME, a history of exhibitions from 1990 to the present (Thames & Hudson 2012, London) and editing The Artist’s Studio for the series Documents of Contemporary Art (MIT Press and Whitechapel Gallery, 2012, Cambridge and London).

Johnson Chang

Johnson CHANG Tsong-zung, curator, co-founder of the Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong, co-founder of the Hong Kong chapter of AICA, guest professor of China Art Academy . He has been active in curating Chinese exhibitions since the 1980s; he pioneered participation of Chinese art in international exhibitions, and was instrumental in establishing the international image of Chinese contemporary art of the 1990s. As a curator with strong attachments to the literati tradition, he firmly believes that contemporary art should have unique responsibilities under different contexts and take diverse paths. One of his main concerns is how Chinese art may contribute to world culture. In recent years, a new aspect of his activities centers around the “revival of Chinese visual and material culture” through the intervention of curatorial practice. These projects involve artifacts, space and ritual, forming a special and unique chapter in Chinese contemporary art. His exhibitions include “China’s New Art Post-1989” in 1993, Special Exhibitions at the Sao Paulo International Biennial in 1994 and 1996, Hong Kong participation at Sao Paulo Biennial 1996 and Venice Biennial 2001, the “Power of the Word’ series of exhibitions, “Strange Heaven: Chinese Contemporary Photography”, “Open Asia International Sculpture Exhibition” in Venice 2005, “Yellow Box” series of research projects about contemporary art practice and Chinese space, Guangzhou Triennial 2008.

Shanghai Art Museum
325 Nanjing Road West Shanghai 200003, China

For more information, please visit: www.shanghaibiennale.com – www.shanghaibiennale.org
Or contact Miss Xiang: shanghaibiennale@126.com, T: 86 21 31278535

18 OCTOBER – 21 OCTOBER 2012
FIAC 2012
General information:
Avenue Winston Churchill, 75008 Paris
Métro: lignes 1 et 13 Champs-Élysées Clemenceau
Bus : lignes 28 l 32 l 42 l 72 l 73 l 80 l 83 l 93
Parking: Rond Point Champs Élysées
Vélib: avenue Franklin Roosevelt & avenue Dutuit
www.fiac.com

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Galeries nationales du Grand Palais
3, avenue du General-Eisenhower Champs Elysees – Paris

Frieze Art Fair 2010 in Regent's Park, London. Photo by Linda Nylind for Frieze. 17/10/2010

Frieze Art Fair
Randall’s Island Park, New York
11–14 October 2012
Regent’s Park, London – Tel: +44 (0)20 3372 6111
http://www.friezeartfair.com/
http://www.friezefoundation.org/

The Emdash Award 2012: Call for Entries

Frieze Art Fair announced today the call for entries to the Emdash Award 2012. The Emdash Award is open to artists living outside of the UK, up to five years from graduating from an undergraduate or postgraduate degree or under 35 years of age. The Emdash Award is part of the Frieze Projects programme, produced by Frieze Foundation, supported by the Emdash Foundation and presented in collaboration with Gasworks.
The recipient of the prize will have the unique opportunity to present their work at Frieze Art Fair 2012 to a significant international audience. Additionally the prize will cover production costs of up to £10,000, an artist’s fee, per diems, travel expenses and a studio residency at Gasworks in London from August to October 2012.
Entrance to the award is by open submission and the winner will be selected by an international panel of artists and curators. The selection committee for 2012 will be: Andrea Dibelius (Emdash Foundation), Ryan Gander (Artist), Rowan Geddis (Residencies Co-ordinator, Gasworks), Udo Kittelmann (Director of the National Gallery, Berlin), Sarah McCrory (Curator, Frieze Foundation), Dr. Matthias
Muhling (Curator of the Lenbachhaus Kunstbau, Munich) and Amelie von Wedel (Emdash Foundation).
The closing date for applications is 9 January 2012. The winner of the award will be announced in May 2012.
Proposals for work can take the form of site-specific installations; performance; film; video or print work. Applicants will be judged on the innovative nature of their proposal and its suitability for realisation at Frieze Art Fair.
The Emdash Award winner in 2011 was Anahita Razmi, whose work Roof Piece Tehran was launched at Frieze Art Fair 2011 to significant critical acclaim.