Queen Leticia Opens 40th ARCO Madrid
Spain’s most important contemporary art fair – ARCO – has been opened by Queen Leticia this week in Madrid´s IFEMA exhibition complex.
The four day fair runs from 23rd to 27th February.
This year´s 40th anniversary event brings together 185 galleries from 30 countries showcasing some of the best new art works including painting, sculpture, installations, photography, video, new media, drawings and prints.
The organisers have highlighted the 40% increase on last year which was severely impacted by the health and social restrictions on movement and capacity due to the coronavirus crisis.
The year prior, was one of the first indicators of the looming pandemic with many visitors cancelling at the last minute as the health situation deteriorated.
Maribel López, Director of ARCO Madrid said that the return to normality makes this anniversary “very important.”
“Every year is (important) but thinking of all that happened in these two years, the fact that we couldn´t be together, so many of us, that we really love to talk about art, to see art. So this edition is going to be very special because all the galleries are here.”
López, says in-person events and real presence are very important: “people come to ARCO to discover, to investigate, to learn, and I think that’s very special of the fair”.
Aside from ARCO Madrid’s main ‘General Programme’, the fair also features many other smaller, individual sections, which aim to highlight a specific art subculture.
And continuing the initiative started in last year’s fair, the ‘Artist Projects’ section will be dedicated exclusively to women.
In addition the “Never the Same” section, made up of a selection of Latin American artists from 10 international galleries, will contribute towards strengthening the Latin American positioning of the fair through galleries from different countries.
