Madrid celebrates one of the high points on its contemporary arts calendar this week as the annual show, ARCOmadrid, comes to town once again. According to Skate’s Art Fairs Report 2015, this is the world’s most visited art fair, with 100,000 connoisseurs through the doors last year. And 2016 promises to be even bigger, with a total of 221 galleries from 27 different countries set to draw in the crowds. Of course, Colección SOLO will be taking a look around!
This year is ARCO’s 35th anniversary and to mark the occasion a special programme has been curated bringing together gallery heavyweights from all over the world, many of which have never previously shown alongside each other. Imagining Other Futures pays tribute to the exhibitors and artists that have shaped ARCO while at the same time presenting exciting new visual dialogues. As in previous years, the fair also comprises a General Programme; Solo Projects, dedicated to LatAm artists; and Opening, a space reserved for the new kids on the gallery scene, where 18 galleries under 7 years old put forward their ideas.
Madrid’s art week extends well beyond the fair venue, with Año 35 Madrid invading locations across the city including the Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Museo Nacional de Antropología or cultural centres such as Casa Arabe or Tabacalera. And it’s not all about ARCO. Small-scale, independent or alternative spaces host a whole range of parallel events. The WE ARE FAIR! International Festival of Emerging Art, for example, will see a city centre hotel overrun with contemporary artworks, while Vera Icon’s False Friends at Factoria de Arte y Desarrollo presents 40 artists’ tongue in cheek tributes to their art world heroes.