Art Fair Seeks Amsterdam Participation
Andrea Rubbini
This May Amsterdam is going to be the location of the 22nd edition of the KunstRAI international art fair. Amsterdam is not only the host but has become very involved in the project itself. In order to make this happen the fair has gathered a wide selection of foreign curators and collectors who will be the guides, navigating the fair’s hallways and the city beauties, highlighting Amsterdam’s importance as a cultural center of arts.
Art Amsterdam/KunstRAI is already the host of many cutting-edge Dutch galleries. This is a natural consequence of its internationalization, the opening of doors to a wide innovative selection of young galleries from the neighboring countries, including Crown Gallery from Brussels, Christa Schuebbe and Michael Cosar, Site and Ursula Walbröl from Düsseldorf and Kuttner/Siebert from Berlin. UK based galleries will also be represented in the fair, with names like Michael von Bartha and Hidde van Seggelen, as well as emerging Italian, French and Danish galleries.
Also the exhibition will feature the latest developments in European contemporary art including the "Wild at Heart" exposition. This consists of an exhibition of the works created by four young internationally active artists, with paintings by Yesim Akdeniz Graf and Melissa Gordon, a film installation curated by Karen Cytter and a video presented by Gary Ward.
Always keeping their eyes out for emergent artists the KunstRAI is hosting 19 international galleries that feature solo exhibitions, allowing visitors to pleasantly discover and appreciate the works of new talented artists in galleries which provide a quiet and natural space.
The city of Amsterdam will be heavily involved in the coming edition of the Dutch fair, featuring for the second time the "Day for Beginner Collectors." This is a tour from the fair to the city, where a selection of beginner collectors will be led by highly regarded collectors who will provide precious information and answer many questions about the art-collecting world.
Beside all of this, the fair hosts the second "Art Edition for Duchenne", with a selection of artists curated by Hendrik Driessen. The proceeds of the special edition will be donated in full to the Duchenne Parent Project, an organisation established and managed by parents with the purpose of speeding up research into a therapy for Duchenne’s disease.
Last but not least the Thieme KunstRAI Prize for the most promising young artist is being organised for the fourth time. The prize is the productions of a catalogue of works by the winning artist and a solo exhibition of his or her work at the next Art Amsterdam/KunstRAI. This is a precious acknowledgment that proves the effort from the fair organization in promoting young artists ahead of the international art community.
