Artissima Stories

For the 25th anniversary, Artissima Fair presented Artissima Stories. 25 years of art, an exclusive format of interviews in blog and video formats, coordinated by Edoardo Bonaspetti and Stefano Cernuschi, with Anna Bergamasco. A programme of 25 stories about Artissima: 5 directors, 5 curators, 5 collectors and 10 gallerists. 25 viewpoints on Artissima and the contemporary art world, released every week at the fair website and social media profiles, from September to November.

Artissima Stories was part of the project Artissima Digital supported by Compagnia di San Paolo.

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Discover here alle the interviews about the project Artissima Stories. 25 years of Art:

► Issue n. 1 | Roberto Casiraghi interviewed by Anna Daneri

“Twenty-five years of life is a major achievement in the world of contemporary art, which is often driven by ephemeral sensations; and the 25-year mark is even more precious because it is held in Italy and in Turin” – Roberto Casiraghi

► Issue n. 2 | Rolf & Venke Hoff interviewed by Diana Baldon

“Why do we return every year? A combination of reasons: the art, the city’s architecture, its collections and museums, its history, its food and wine. Artissima does it the Italian way by making every year different, sometimes a little crazy, but always with high quality, and generosity in taking care of the visitors” – Rolf e Venke Hoff

► Issue n. 3 | Beatrix Ruf interviewed by Letizia Ragaglia

“Every year looking forward to my time in Turin. I found the intense process of discussing artists with the great groups of colleagues and the Artissima team very inspiring and horizon widening” – Beatrix Ruf

► Issue n. 4 | Andrea Bellini interviewed by Luca Lo Pinto

“I don’t believe our intelligence is found in single brains but in the collective mind. The responsibility of producing thought lies with the whole art system, fairs included” – Andrea Bellini

► Issue n. 5 | Hou Hanru interviewed by Nicola Ricciardi

“Sound – the new section – is fantastic. I think sound art has always been an important field of exploration and experimentation. When applied to a fair, that approach becomes even more interesting. It’s an interesting challenge” – Hou Hanru

► Issue n. 6 | Pedro Barbosa interviewed da Fernanda Brenner

“I think Artissima is a calm, concentrated fair in which it is possible to open up a real dialogue on art” – Pedro Barbosa

► Issue n. 7 | Alfonso Artiaco inteviewed by Andrea Viliani

“I never agree when people say that fairs are where the economic side of the galleries comes to the fore: if anything, the fairs are the places where the work of the galleries emerges most strongly” – Alfonso Artiaco

 ► Issue n. 8 | VIDEO | Ilaria Bonacossa interviewed by Patrizia Sandretto Re Baudengo

“I think the very nature of Turin is fascinating, meaning a city which is still a bit of a well-kept secret and it is also a city which experiences this polarity between being still a 19th century city with a slow sense of time on one hand, and on the other, one of being a city that invests in the future and in innovation, and so I think these two souls make it attractive” – Ilaria Bonacossa

► Issue n. 9 | Daniel Baumann interviewed by Antonia Alampi

“So consciously or not, Artissima plays out, with charm and intelligence, the card of multiple, yet specific experiences” – Daniel Bauman

► Issue n. 10 | Galila Barzilaï Hollander interviewed by Marcella Beccaria

“I love emerging artists and the way they talk about a word that still belongs to the future. (…) I like the way Artissima promotes young artists, and each time I find new artists to discover” – Galila Barzilaï Hollander

► Issue n. 11 | VIDEO | Isabella Bortolozzi interviewed by Lucrezia Calabrò Visconti

“I find Torino a special place, because there is a tradition, which maybe comes from the Arte Povera, but then there is also an openness to the young positions and a curiosity, which I find always very important” – Isabella Bortolozzi

► Issue n. 12 | Jennifer Chert interviewed by João Mourao e Luìs Silva

“We try to focus on what’s important regarding the work of the gallery, believing that real commitment and un-compromised passion can make a difference “- Jennifer Chert

► Issue n.13 | Florence Bonnefous interviewed by Francesco Stocchi

“To maintain, as they say, a “sustainable” commercial gallery (in the sense of ethical commerce) is a difficult task. Artists’ works always carry the seed of change, consciously or not” – Florence Bonnefous

► Issue n. 14 | VIDEO | Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev interviewed by Eva Fabbris

The collection is the very heart of a public museum. It’s the task of museums and musum curators in general to undertake an operation of rediscovery of artists“ – Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev

► Issue n.15 |  Massimo Minini interviewed by Luigi Fassi

 “Turin was a key city for Italian art over the last century. We cannot forget the relationship between Giulio Casorati and Riccardo Gualino, the intellectuals of the Einaudi Group, such as Elio Vittorini, but also Adriano Olivetti and FIAT, which had an incredible effect on the country’s development. In art, the The Gruppo dei Sei tried to develop intimism, but then in the ’60s came the Arte Povera bombshell, and even those who were not in Turin were attracted to it thanks to a series of fortunate coincidences” – Massimo Minini

► Issue n.16 | Alessandro Pasotti & Fabrizio Padovani (P420) interviewed by João Laia

“Artissima undoubtedly remains the leading Italian art fair, the most important international showcase, with a strong drive toward the contemporary sphere yet without overlooking more historical aspects. For an Italian gallery, that is fundamental” – Alessandro Pasotti & Fabrizio Padovani

► Issue n.17 #ArtissimaStories | VIDEO | Franco Noero interviewed by Cristiano Raimondi

“If there were no Artissima, and if Artissima hadn’t have the strength it has had over the last years and that it has at the moment, it would be difficult for a gallery like mine to justify its presence on the territory” – Franco Noero

► Issue n.18 | Francesco Manacorda interviewed by Marianna Vecellio

“At Artissima, the artists feel protected and not under such close observation, in a position of dialogue and comparison akin to that of a group show. This aspect of comfort and authorization to take risks makes the fair a hotbed in which the first conversations with curators are more authentic and transparent”

► Issue n.19 | Jocelyn Wolff interviewed by Lorenzo Benedetti

“A contemporary art gallery should take risks, as it means that you accept—or try to accept—to be proven wrong in the future”

► Issue n.20 | Anita Zabludowicz interviewed by Cloé Perrone

“What Artissima does that no other fair does is educate the collector”

► Issue n.21 | Mario Cristiani interviewed by Camilla Barella

“Our intention was to take art into new places and make it known to those around us. We started in Tuscany and, with the same spirit, we reached China, the Parisian countryside, and Havana. We had the courage to face difficult situations thanks to the key role that art plays in our lives and thanks to the artists we work with.”

► Issue n.22 || Sarah Cosulich inteviewed by Maurizio Cattelan

“The fair is a complex, heterogeneous system in which very different aims intersect, but in this ensemble of varying ambitions, it at least represents the best possible compromise.”

► Issue n.23 | VIDEO | John Elkann interviewed by Abaseh Mirvali

“ I found interesting to go to Artissima also with my children, that exploration that we’ve done as a family has always been very valuable”

► Issue n.24 | Lia Rumma inteviewed by Lorenzo Giusti

“Artissima is among those best equipped today in Italy to attract a good international audience. Let us all hope that it lives long and in good health. We need it.”

► Issue n.25 | Hans Ulrich Obrist interviewed by Filipa Ramos

“I think I may have missed Artissima just once in the past ten years, because a series of really remarkable directors have made it very curatorial, in a way”