MADRID FOTO

MADRIDFOTO is a new photography fair which will be held in Madrid at the beginning of May. Following in the footsteps of events such as Paris Photo and Photo Miami, MadridFoto is the first international photography fair in Spain to focus on private, corporate and public collections.

Organized by a group of collectors and businessmen headed by Enrique de Polanco, and directed by the previous manager of Spain’s chief photography show PhotoEspaña, Giulietta Speranza, the newcomer MFoto strives to further illuminate the medium of photography in international art fair circles, as well as to secure a Spanish base for its specialised niche market.

The fair takes place from the 7th through to the 10th of May 2009, and is housed in hall 6 of the Feria de Madrid (IFEMA), designed by Andrés Jaque architects. The MADRIDFOTO advisory committee comprising of Rafael Doctor (art critic and founder of MUSAC), Alberto Martín (curator and art critic for Babelia), Lorena Martínez de Corral (freelance curator and director of Expoactual) and Giulietta Speranza (Art Director of the fair), has selected over 40 galleries to exhibit at the event, showing the artwork of some 230 international artists.

Artists, whose work will be on display, include: Alberto García Alix, Andres Serrano, Axel Hütte, Bleda Rosa, Candida Höfer, Cornelia Parker, Duane Michals, Edward Burtynsky, Erwin Olaf, Isabel Muñoz,Martin Parr, Mikko Sinervo, Paul Graham, Pierre Gonnord, Rineke Dijsktra, Sergey Bratkov, Stan Douglas, Wolfgang Tillmans…

Galleries include: Blanca Berlín Galería, Dolores de Sierra, Galería Carles Taché, Galería Oliva Arauna, Galerie Clairefontaine, Gallery TaiK, Photolounge.eu, Adhoc Galeria, Galería Juan Silió, Galería Hartmann…

For a full list of Exhibitors please see here.

MADRIDFOTO aims to become the meeting point for photography collectors worldwide, both private and institutional. As such the fair has sent out numerous invitations to well known collectors in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, Holland and so on. A wealth of social activities and events have been organized to coincide with the fair, which, alongside all of Madrid’s landmarks and cultural hotspots, will leave the visitor with little else to wish for.

Things to do & places to see:

• Museo Nacional del Prado
• Museo Thyssen Bornemisza
• Museo de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando
• Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
• Fundación Juan March – currently showing an exhibition by the American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein.
• Around the Plaza Mayor – Madrid’s “Plaza Mayor” (“Main Square”) is the heart of old capital of the Habsburg’s dynasty. A stroll around the Plaza will lead you to some of the finest Baroque churches and convents of Madrid as well as to picturesque corners and famous taverns.
• Royal Pantheon, Palace & Monastery of El Escorial – If “El Escorial” stood 60 kilometres NW from Rome, it would still be a mandatory landmark of that city. This huge ensemble in the “Sierra” of Madrid is one of the most impressive buildings of the Renaissance.
• Royal Palace of Madrid
• El Retiro Park – the ‘Lungs of Madrid’
• El Rastro – Madrid’s flea market, a picturesque place where all imaginable types of things are bought and sold.

For a full listing of Madrid exhibitions during the fair please see here.

Visitors Information:  Tickets: 12 € / For students / over 65’s 10 €

Address: Almirante 9, Hall 6, 28004 Madrid, Spain

Private View: 7/5/2009
from 12:00 – 21:00

Open to the public: 8/5/2009 – 10/5/2009
Friday to Saturday: From noon to 9 pm
Sunday: From 11 am. to 6 pm

www.artfairmagazine.com.