miart 2016 | PRIZES AND ACQUISITIONS: THE “GIAMPIERO CANTONI” ACQUISITION FUND OF FIERA MILANO DOUBLES TO 100,000 EUROS

miart 2016
8 – 10 April 2016

fieramilanocity, pavilion 3, gate 5 Milan

PRIZES AND ACQUISITIONS
THE “GIAMPIERO CANTONI” ACQUISITION FUND OF FIERA MILANO DOUBLES TO 100,000 EUROS
EMERGENT PRIZE AND PREMIO HERNO RETURN

"The Foundation has decided to double the size of the fund because it represents an initiative that perfectly reflects the philosophy that has always set our modus operandi apart, with a focus on art and culture as well as creativity and brilliance, in keeping with our original mission. Ever since its first edition, miart has always been an ideal reference point in this sector, especially due to the enormous potential and the big numbers that accompany its progress year after year. Our city is a national and international leader in the field of art and artistic exchanges. This year, moreover, the presence of a highly qualified and authoritative international jury offers us further guarantees of the validity of the initiative taken forward by Fondazione Fiera Milano, on a par with other major public and private institutions, towards the creation of its own art collection that can enrich our artistic heritage, year after year.”

With these words Benito Benedini, President of Fondazione Fiera Milano, announced that for miart 2016, the 21st edition of the international fair of modern and contemporary art of Milan, the “Giampiero Cantoni” Acquisition Fund will be doubled: from 50,000 € set aside in the past, Fondazione Fiera Milano now provides 100,000 € thanks to which works of modern and contemporary art will be purchased from the exhibits at miart, to become part of the collection of the Foundation.
An international jury of great prestige, composed of the President of Fondazione Fiera Milano, Cav. Lav. Benito Benedini, with Bettina Della Casa, Curator of the Museum of Italian Switzerland in Lugano, Douglas Fogle, independent curator and critic based in Los Angeles, cofounder of the curatorial office STUDIO LBV, and Martin Germann, Senior Curator of the S.M.A.K. in Ghent, will have the job of selecting the works to be acquired.
“This is an important acknowledgment on the part of Fondazione Fiera Milano – says Corrado Peraboni, CEO of Fiera Milano – that confirms and underlines the growth in he level of quality of miart.”

Alongside the “Giampiero Cantoni” Acquisition Fund, for 2016 miart confirms the second edition of Premio Herno, in an ongoing relationship with the prestigious manufacturer of luxury outerwear. The prize, with a value of 10,000 €, will be assigned to the booth with the best exhibit, conceived, installed and curated down to the smallest details like a true exhibition, combining high levels of research, quality and installation design.

An international jury formed by Lionel Bovier, Director of MAMCO, Musée d’art moderne et contemporain of Geneva starting in January 2016, Anna Colin, Associate Curator of Fondation Galeries Lafayette of Paris and Co-director of Open School East of London, Annie Fletcher, Curator of exhibitions at Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, and Jens Hoffmann, Deputy Director and Head of Exhibitions and Public Programs at the Jewish Museum of New York, will have the task of selecting the winning stand.

The Emergent Prize also returns, for a sum of 4,000 € awarded to the most outstanding gallery in the Emergent section for the promotion of young artists. Again in this case, the prize is assigned by an international jury, composed of Luis Silva, Co- director of the Kunsthalle of Lisbon, Polly Staple, Director of the Chisenhale Gallery in London, and Mirjam Varadinis, Curator of the Kunsthaus of Zurich.