A "REVOLUTION" AT MIART 2009: TWO CURATORS FOR THE CONTEMPORARY SECTION

Giacinto Di Pietrantonio and Luca Cerizza, curators of the Contemporary section. Donatella Volontè curates the Modern. Laura Garbarino the new contact person for collectors.

Following on from the success of the 2008 fair, which saw the participation of 200 galleries from Italy and around the world, and over 38 thousand visitors, the International Modern and Contemporary Art Fair team is being strengthened with the arrival of two new consultants for the Contemporary section: Giacinto Di Pietrantonio, a leading Italian art world figure who lectures in art history, art theory and design criticism at Milan's Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera and is director of Bergamo's GAMEC; and Luca Cerizza, a Berlin-based curator and writer. Di Pietrantonio and Cerizza have the job of reformulating the Contemporary section, which from 2009 will have greater importance than in the past, with a greater emphasis on quality and the participation of both established and promising new galleries.

Alongside the "new" Contemporary section will be the prestigious Modern section, curated by Donatella Volontè. Another new face for MiArt in 2009, Laura Garbarino will be the contact person for Italian and international collectors and the special programs dedicated to them.

The experience and professionalism of the three new consultants represents a major investment in the strategy to further grow MiArt. This strategy was widely applauded in 2008 and, for the 14th Fair, scheduled for April 17-20, 2009 (inauguration on April 16), will continue to step up and reinforce the event's role in the art market.

MiArt 2009 will continue making major changes to reinforce its strengths. These changes are being planned and structured by an almost completely overhauled Selection Committee and a new Honorary Committee. Some of these changes include the important Miraggi (Mirages) exhibition, in which galleries participating in MiArt feature works selected by the curators for display in prestigious settings around Milan. The first Mirages staged in 2008 was a resounding success, with 16 monumental sculptures exhibited in spaces around Piazza Scala, Piazzetta Reale, Via Dante and other locations in downtown Milan.

To provide greater visibility to artists, MiArt will also select a famous artist from among those featured by the galleries to design and reinterpret some of the spaces at the Fair, such as the reception area, VIP lounge, video lounge and other meeting places. Architecture and art, these spaces will also host the new initiatives currently on the drawing board.

Finally, the 14th MiArt is offering participating galleries and artists another important new feature. Through the Associazione Amici di MiArt, from 2009 the International Modern and Contemporary Art Fair will have an art investment fund. A not-for-profit undertaking, the Association will support and promote contemporary art through the purchase of works on show at MiArt for display in public places around Milan. The founding members of the Association (Fondazione Fiera Milano, Fiera Milano SPA, Fiera Milano International, the Milan Chamber of Commerce and the Lombardy Region) have recently been joined by Banca Popolare di Milano.

MiArt 2009: April 17-20, 2009; Inauguration: Thursday 16 April (invitation only)

fieramilanocity, Milan, pavilions 3-4

MiArt Organizing Secretariat: Fiera Milano International, Via Varesina, 76 - 20156 Milan, Italy

Tel (+ 39 02) 48550312 - Fax (+39 02) 48550420

email miart@fmi.it /

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MIART PRESS OFFICE

Maria Grazia Vernuccio - Press office manager

Tel: (+39 02) 48550474 / Cell: +39 3351282864

Email: mg_vernuccio@libero.it / press_miart@fmi.it

Curriculum Vitae

Giacinto Di Pietrantonio

Giacinto Di Pietrantonio, a high profile figure on the Italian art scene, lectures in art history, art theory and design criticism at Milan's Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. He is also director of GAMEC (Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea) in Bergamo. And he is vice chairman the board of AMACI (Associazione dei Musei d'Arte Contemporanea Italiani) and director of the AMACI magazine. Other roles include director of the contemporary art discussion magazine Perché?, a position he took on after being editor-in-chief and, later, vice-director of Flash Art Italia up to 1992.

Highlights among the many exhibitions he has curated - in addition to those for GAMEC - are the Russian artists section of Passaggi ad Oriente at the 1993 Venice Biennale, Fuori Uso (Pescara 1995, 1997, 1998 and 1999) and Over the Edges with Jan Hoet a Gent (Belgium). He has edited monographs by Enzo Cucchi, Jan Fabre and Ettore Spalletti.