History of ArteFiera

Arte Fiera, the modern and contemporary art exhibition held in Bologna each year in January, was launched in 1974 immediately after the international art fairs in Cologne and Basel. Over the decades, it has become one of the most important events on the international contemporary art scene.

Founded as the first art fair in Italy, Arte Fiera generated increased enthusiasm for contemporary art in a country that had previously shown moderate interest in and given little importance to contemporary artistic research. The event demonstrated an ability to highlight new developments in the Italian and international art scene and immediately became renowned for the high quality of the participating galleries.

These included the major U.S. galleries such as Leo Castelli and Ileana Sonnabend, John Weber, Sidney Janis and Holly Solomon, many of the leading European galleries such as Jan Krugier, Ronald Feldman, Galerie Maeght and Nigel Greenwood as well as the prominent Italian ones such as the historic Neapolitan galleries of Lucio Amelio and Lia Rumma, Marconi and Gianferrari from Milano and Christian Stein and Tucci Russo from Turin.
Aiming to offer a high-quality program of artists and artistic trends right from the outset, Arte Fiera presented the works of the leading figures in the avant-garde movements, from Pop Art to Arte Povera, from Conceptual to Transavanguardia, from Minimal to the return to painting and contemporary trends. At the same time, it made on-going efforts to promote young artists and the latest research, an element that has set it apart from other international shows.

In 2005, Arte Fiera changed its name to “Arte Fiera Art First” to highlight its dual nature as the first event in the annual calendar and the ideal venue for discovering the latest trends in the contemporary art scene, with a focus both on established artists and the new generation.

Arte Fiera has also given extensive coverage to the historic masters of the twentieth century, from the beginning of the century through the 1950s, with a selection of paintings and sculptures of great interest not only for private collectors but also for art galleries.
The halls of Arte Fiera, designed in the late 1960s by Japanese architect Kenzo Tange and subsequently by Leonardo Benevolo and Pier Luigi Cerri, have undergone continual restyling to make the show increasingly appealing to the growing numbers of visitors. In 2009, a new hall joined the existing structures to create an exhibition lay-out on a single level.
In 2004, Silvia Evangelisti was appointed Artistic Director after working as a consultant for the event since 1988.
As a result of the extensive program of cultural initiatives that have taken place over the various editions of the show, Arte Fiera has become not only the most important show in Italy and among the most influential on the international art scene, but it has also evolved into an extraordinary cultural event. Each year, the exhibition center hosts meetings with artists and other well-known figures as well as conferences and academic forums addressing the most current themes in contemporary art.

As a matter of fact, Arte Fiera was among the first in breaking ground by bringing topical cultural events to the exhibition itself. One noteworthy example is the “International Performance Weeks” of 1977 and 1978 in which the most renowned world-class performers took part, from Marina Abramovic and Ulay to Hermann Nitsch, Renate Bertlmann, Robert Kushner and Vito Acconci. There were several top-notch Italian performers as well, such as Gina Pane, Giuseppe Chiari, Vincenzo Agnetti, Luigi Ontani and Vettor Pisani. Further, in 1978, there was the exhibit “Photography: Trends from 1955” under the curatorship of Harry H. Lunn.

Recent editions of Arte Fiera have seen great cooperation with the city of Bologna for the events held during the show. These include: “Bologna Art First,” an initiative that since 2005 has showcased contemporary art installations in buildings and outdoor spaces in the historic center; “Arte Fiera Off” that since 2007 has hosted numerous artistic events in public and private spaces both in the city and in other venues in the region of Emilia Romagna, and last but not least, since 2008 “Art White Night” that transforms the streets and squares of Bologna into a major contemporary art venue throughout the evening.

Bologna, an old university city renowned for having one of the largest mediaeval town centers in Italy, welcomes “Arte Fiera Art First” visitors to enjoy its world-famous hospitality.