Art Brussels 2014
special projects
25–27 April 2014
Preview & vernissage: 24 April (by invitation only)
Brussels Expo – Halls 1 & 3
Place de Belgique, 1
BE-1020 Brussels
Hours: noon–8pm
Art Brussels, which for the tenth consecutive year is supported by ING as its main sponsor, is pleased to announce its special artistic projects for the 32nd edition. Within the continuing spirit of creative and artistic renewal, the fair features several new initiatives, including the flagship artistic project for 2014, an exhibition titled Portrait of the Collector as a Work of Art. Based on a concept conceived of by Katerina Gregos, artistic director of the fair, the exhibition will bring together highlights from the collections of the Art Brussels’ Collectors Committee, comprised of some of the most outstanding Belgian collectors. The latter are internationally known for their passion, dedication, knowledge, and expertise and for discovering and acquiring artists at a very early stage in their careers. Art Brussels, with the collaboration of Louis Vuitton, will thus pay tribute to a selected number of these collectors in an exhibition that contains a distinct autobiographical dimension. This unique project would not be possible without the generous partnership of Louis Vuitton, and the additional support of Anglo Belge Special Risks, who are Art Brussels’ exclusive partners in this unique endeavour.
This year, together with the National Lottery, Art Brussels has launched a new curatorial competition for emerging curators (by invitation only), providing the opportunity for a young curator to organise an exhibition drawn from the collection of the National Lottery on the theme of games of chance. This unique collection of 100.000 items contains works of art by Old Masters as well as contemporary artists and includes photographs, audio-visual material, drawings, prints, etchings, sculptures, ceramics, paintings, objects, ephemera, tapestries, posters and documents but also lottery machines, slot machines, fun fair lotteries, dices, etc. The winning curatorial proposal will be presented exclusively at the National Lottery booth at Art Brussels.
In addition, the fair continues to support not-for-profit spaces and independent or experimental curatorial initiatives. This year Art Brussels will again host six not-for-profit spaces, from all over Belgium, introducing to the fair an important non-commercial parameter. Each space has been invited to present a special project thus highlighting practices that are more experimental. The spaces featured this year are NICC (Brussels), Objectif (Antwerp), LLS 387 (Antwerp), CIAP (Hasselt), Hotel Charleroi (Charleroi), and Kiosk (Gent).
One of the unique highlights of Art Brussels for some years now, is the HISK Café, operated by HISK—the Higher Institute for Fine Arts, Gent. The HISK Café doubles up as a bar but also a special artistic project, conceived of by the 23 artists currently resident at the HISK. The HISK Café offers visitors the chance to make artistic discoveries, while enjoying a drink and a moment of relaxation, drawing many artists and a young crowd. For Art Brussels 2014 HISK will introduce a menu that features the work of the resident artists. The menu will function as a catalogue, which will be distributed to the visitors. Guests will be able to select an artwork from a range of artists ‘à la carte.’ When chosen, the selected artwork—which may take any shape or form—will be unveiled.
With the support of ING, Art Brussels has this year launched the Art Brussels Colouring Book to benefit a charity. About fifty international galleries participating at Art Brussels 2014 have asked their artists to contribute to this book with a black and white colouring drawing on the subject of identity. The original drawings will be on sale at the ING Lounge.
Art Brussels is also pleased to announce a new collaboration with the Brussels art centre Beursschouwburg, to present longer feature films and documentaries, throughout the year and beyond the short duration of the art fair. The Artist’s Film Premières are presented in the appropriate conditions of the cinema space at Beursschouwburg, in the heart of Brussels. The season kicked off last month with the presentation of The Stuart Hall Project (2013) by John Akomfrah (b. 1957, Ghana) and will continue with a screening of the work of Turner-Prize winners Laure Prouvost (b. 1978, France) on 27 March, and Elizabeth Price (b. 1966, UK), on 17 April, with more to come. See www.beursschouwburg.be for further details.
Finally, don’t miss the special collector’s item Art Brussels bag, designed by Rinus Van de Velde (b. 1983, Belgium), whose work can be seen as an extensive attempt to engage existing images and stories in a mythologized (artistic) biography that consists of drawings and narrative texts. This limited edition bag will be exclusively on sale at the fair.
There is no doubt that Brussels has, in recent years, experienced a creative renaissance, especially in the visual arts. The city continues to attract international attention and more newcomers in terms of artists, galleries and curators. This, in addition to the committed cultural institutions that already exist, is solidifying Brussels’ reputation as one of Europe’s most interesting and promising contemporary art cities, and provides one more reason to visit Brussels this April!