On 16 February 2007 comes the official announcement of the new director of Artissima: the curator Andrea Bellini. Artissima is the first fair to appoint a director with a curatorial background.

Paco Barragán in “The Art Fair Age” writes “we shouldn’t be surprised that the curator’s presence at art fairs is each time more overwhelming, given that it is becoming the differentiating element for making an art fair stand out among the mass of fair proposals” (Paco Barragán, The Art Fair Age, Charta, Milano 2008 p. 39)

In line with its new objectives, ARTissima comes up with the phrase “Featuring the Future” to emphasise its attitude of openness and discovery.

With the aim of creating a travelling event through the year, “Artissima All Over” (a cycle of conferences programmed throughout 2007 in various Italian cities, with the participation of Reena Spaulings and Marc Olivier Wahler) was produced, as well as “Radio Sick” – the name was suggested by the artist Maurizio Cattelan – the magazine of ARTissima, published in two issues during the course of 2007.

Also worth mentioning: “Artissima Fumetto” with a retrospective on GIPI at Palazzo Birago di Borgaro (curated by Daniele Ratti and Sergio Pignatone); “Artissima Cinema”, curated by the German artist Alexander Brandt and Davide Quadrio; “Artissima Volume”, to explore the connections between music and the visual arts.

Finally, on the front of cultural policies to support contemporary art in Italy, in 2007 the FRAC / Fondo Regionale Arte Contemporanea was created by the Piedmont Region, permitting the acquisition at the fair of 11 works for an overall investment of 150,000 euros.