London’s global art fair, Art15, sponsored by Citi Private Bank, is delighted to announce that Jonathan Watkins, Director at Ikon Gallery Birmingham, and Aaron Cezar, the Founding Director of London’s Delfina Foundation, will advise on the dedicated young gallery sections Emerge and London First.
Art15 takes place at Olympia in London from 21 to 23 May 2015, with the VIP preview on 20 May. The 2014 fair featured modern and contemporary galleries from 40 countries and attracted over 31,000 visitors.
Emerge and London First demonstrate Art15′s continued commitment to emerging artists and younger galleries from across the globe.
Jonathan Watkins has been appointed the curatorial adviser to Emerge, a section of the fair dedicated to up-and-coming artists and emerging art scenes. Galleries exhibiting in Emerge must be under seven years old and are invited to present tightly curated solo or dual artist shows. Galleries will focus on different elements and configurations of the word ‘emerge’—from emerging artists to emerging art scenes to draw together a tightly curated section that offers a roadmap to emerging creativity.
Jonathan has been the Director at Ikon Gallery since 1999 and was previously a Curator at the Serpentine Gallery and the Director of Chisenhale Gallery, both in London. Throughout his career, Watkins has championed international artistic practice and celebrated art from Europe, Asia and the Middle East, curating international exhibitions at Hayward Gallery (London), Biennale of Sydney, Castello di Rivoli (Turin), Shanghai Biennale, as well as the the Iraqi Pavilion for the Venice Biennale 2013. Watkins has written extensively on contemporary art, including recent essays focusing on the work of Giuseppe Penone, Martin Creed, Semyon Faibisovich, Yang Zhenzhong, and Cornelia Parker. He was the author of the Phaidon monograph on Japanese artist On Kawara.
Aaron is joining Art15 as the curatorial adviser to London First, which focuses on galleries under five years old that have never participated in an art fair in London. This section features one- or two-person presentations by young artists and offers emerging international galleries access to London’s collectors, curators and art lovers.
Aaron Cezar is the founding Director of Delfina Foundation, where he develops and oversees its interrelated programme of residencies, exhibitions and public platforms. Aaron curates the Delfina Foundation’s exhibitions and events programme, positioning the foundation as the leading centre for the development of creative practice from the UK, the Middle East, South Asia and beyond. His experience of nurturing creative talent has led him to sit on numerous boards, committees and advisory groups including the Marrakech Biennale, the Jarman Award 2012 and he was also part of the culture team for London 2012 that secured London’s Olympic bid.
For further information on Emerge and London First please contact Georgia Griffiths, Gallery Liaison Manager at georgia [at] artfairslondon.com / T +44 207 886 3098.
For information on Art15, please contact:
Stephanie Dieckvoss, Fair Director
stephanie [at] artfairslondon.com
Nour Aslam, Head of Gallery Development
nour [at] artfairslondon.com
Georgia Griffiths, Gallery Liaison Manager – Emerge and London First
georgia [at] artfairslondon.com / T +44 (0) 207 886 3112
Art15 applications now open, to apply please visit artfairslondon.com.
