SetUp Contemporary Art Fair announces its 7th edition from January 31 to February 3, 2019, with a program full of surprises and novelties, set in the evocative Palazzo Pallavicini. Founded in 2013, this independent fair dedicated to emerging contemporary art, organized by Simona Gavioli, returns to enliven the Bologna art week with its vibrant and innovative spirit. After the great success and strong appreciation from visitors, exhibitors, and industry professionals, the new edition is set to engage an ever-wider audience.
THE FORMAT
The timeless, unique, and original format features the three key figures in the art world: artist, curator, and gallerist. Exhibitors are invited to propose a curatorial project featuring up to three artists under 35, each presented with a critical text from a curator under 35. This minimalist approach, strongly desired compared to previous editions, aims to focus special attention on individual artists this year, creating targeted focuses that allow collectors and enthusiasts to enjoy high-quality artistic offerings.
THE THEME
The theme chosen for 2019 is Ithaca. Ithaca is the island of Ulysses, the destination of his adventures, the driving force behind his journeys, where Penelope “with a heart of iron” awaits him, but also the island where the journey itself becomes the destination. For seven years, SetUp has been the island that attracts art sailors—a port where artists, gallerists, collectors, and enthusiasts converge, blending languages, cultures, and dreams to build together the memory of the future and envision a world that is a home for everyone.
EXHIBITORS
The 7th edition will feature 25 galleries, including 22 Italian and 3 international ones from the United States, France, and Spain.
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
The 2019 scientific committee, as in every edition, will include prominent figures from the national cultural scene. This year’s committee includes Silvia Evangelisti, art critic, historian, and curator, alongside Camilla and Giovanni Scarzella, collectors and members of the Spazio GaMeC Club, Chiara Caliceti, collector, and Rocco Guglielmo, collector and Artistic Director of Museo Marca and the Rocco Guglielmo Foundation in Catanzaro.
AWARDS
SetUp Award 2019
The Steering Committee, in collaboration with the Scientific Committee, will select the winners of the SetUp Award 2019. This year, SetUp Contemporary Art Fair aims to highlight artists and curators under 35 presented by the galleries, awarding those who best explore the theme of Ithaca. The winners will be announced on Friday, February 1, 2019, at 8:00 PM at the stands of the galleries that promoted the projects.
Tiziano Campolmi Award
The Tiziano Campolmi Association seeks to keep the memory of Tiziano Campolmi alive by supporting and promoting young creative talents. After the great success of the 2017 and 2018 editions, the association renews its presence at SetUp Contemporary Art Fair by promoting the Tiziano Campolmi Award to recognize the work of a young artist pursuing research in photography. The association will support the artist’s research by acquiring the winning work at the time of proclamation. The selection will occur in two phases: the first phase through popular voting on the Award’s Facebook and Instagram pages. During the fair, works nominated for the Award will be identified with a special label, and the public can like them until the closing of the fair on Saturday, February 2, 2019, at midnight. The five works with the highest approval rating will enter the second selection phase by the judging commission to determine the winner. The winner will be selected by a commission comprising the founding members of the Association and SetUp’s management. The proclamation will take place on Sunday, February 3, 2019, at 3:00 PM. The Award will be presented by the Association’s President, Andrea Benericetti.
A.T. Cross Company Art Award
New for 2019, the A.T. Cross Company Art Award will be given to the best artist whose work is created on SMLT brand paper. This initiative is strongly supported by entrepreneur Lorenzo Motta, a passionate art enthusiast who, along with his partner Marco Rossi of Santara S.r.l., believes that collaboration with Simona Gavioli, Director of the Bologna contemporary art fair, can best showcase the potential of paper as a value-enhancing element of a work. The new contest will unfold in two stages. Initially, artists will create their works on SMLT Smiltainis paper provided by Santara; these works will be displayed during the fair and marked as “candidate for the A.T. Cross Company Art Award” with a tag. The award phase will follow: on Friday, February 1, the commission, composed of Santara’s CEO and a jury of experts selected by SetUp Contemporary Art Fair, will choose the winning work. Santara will purchase the chosen work and fund the catalog of the awarded artist, published by Il Rio Edizioni.
NEW FEATURES OF THE 7TH EDITION
SetUp Contemporary Art Fair 2019 will feature a rich program of collateral events, major novelties, and previews.
In the OFF Projects section, the fair will present the project by photographer Luca Maria Castelli, Esegesi della libertà, curated by Maria Letizia Tega. Castelli’s photographs depict a modern Penelope, who, like her mythological counterpart, lives with contradictions. The woman portrayed by Castelli is free yet imprisoned by her eroticism, a canvas that is both a salvation and a condemnation. Unlike in Homer’s poem where Penelope existed only in relation to a man, here she is the absolute protagonist of her story. The images to be displayed in the Chapel of Palazzo Pallavicini are parts of a screenplay, semantically linked but independently meaningful: each shot is a narrative in itself, with a collective reading describing the strong fragility of eros.
For the first time, a video/installations section will be set up at the fair, featuring the exhibition ISLANDER, curated by Bologna’s Manuela Valentini. Following the Ithaca theme, Valentini invited three artists from different islands, washed by different seas. Isola as a place of birth, departure, and perhaps a destined return? A lived, lost, and rediscovered world that evokes and provokes often contrasting themes and emotions: travel, solitude, and carefreeness.
Among the projects selected by SetUp’s curatorial staff, there will be a site-specific work by Ravenna-based artist Caterina Morigi. Morigi’s installations, videos, and photographic prints focus on microscopic details of reality, illuminating unexpected points of light. Her sources include the past, art history, and architecture, relating to the present as a contemporary archaeologist.
In the OFF Projects section, Barbara Baroncini will present a video installation featuring her hands rolling a long strip of clay on a lawn. The clay “retains” what it encounters along the way. The work is distinguished by its unconventional use of material: the clay sculpture is not conceived as a sculpture but as an integral part of the performative action.
Among the fair events, on Saturday, February 2, the national premiere of the performance “I(m)SOLA” by Marina Visentini and Elena Copelli will be presented. Created in collaboration with Teatro Magrodi Mantova, a landmark in Italian experimental theater, the performance is designed specifically for SetUp to depict the island as a “place of transformation” (by invitation/request only).
Additionally, a rich program of round tables will be presented by the Rocco Guglielmo Foundation and Museo Marca of Catanzaro, curated by Simona Caramia. Experts and prominent figures will address the issue of boundaries, analyzing multiple perspectives through an interdisciplinary approach.
During the fair, Curator-tours led by young curators and guided visits exploring Palazzo Pallavicini with art historian Nicola Zanotti will be organized.
Finally, SetUp Plus returns for the 7th edition, a platform for active events during art week organized by the fair to engage the city of Bologna and all interested entities in showcasing their galleries, associations, and exhibition spaces with shows and projects. You can register for SetUp Plus until January 10, 2019, by sending an email to info@setupcontemporaryart.com with a description of the project, artist bios, images of exhibited works, and technical details of the venue. Participation in SetUp Plus is free and open to all events that will be accessible in Bologna from January 31 to February 3, 2019.
