Artissima celebrates its twenty-ninth edition from 3rd to 6th November with the aim of offering a transformative experience —beyond the logic of the art market alone— to the professional community and to different audiences, thanks to the rich offer that the fair's team have devised and will deploy both in the fairgrounds and elsewhere in the city of Turin.

The following is the result of a conversation with Luigi Fassi, who will be the director of this prestigious and attractive fair from the current edition and at least until 2024.

I

ALBERTO AGUILAR: This year Artissima will be in its 29th edition. What are its strengths and what elements differentiate it from other fairs on the international calendar? Or in other words: what are your signs of identity?

LUIGI FASSI: Artissima has a precise identity, that of a fair exclusively focused on contemporary art, the only one with this specific focus in Italy, with a particular leaning towards galleries and artists of the younger generation. The fair pays constant and continuing attention to the global art scene, to be able to attract the interest of even the most expert collectors, who visit the fair as an opportunity for discovery. Over the years Artissima has become part of the public foundation Fondazione Torino Musei, developing it’s position as an independent fair, with the priority the serve participating galleries in relation to cultural institutions in the region, in Italy and on an international level.

II

AA: Artissima is, in your words, an institution that represents a spirit of vitality and innovation. Given that you will be in charge of the next three editions, what do you think it is appropriate to nuance from what your predecessors have done? What changes and strategies are you implementing in this edition and will evolve until 2024? What we should pay attention to this year in order to understand your concept of an art fair?

LF: Artissima should continue to pay close attention to international developments on the gallery scene, in order to preserve and augment its role as a fair capable of facilitating entrepreneurial growth for the participating galleries, while responding to the expectations of research of the collectors who engage with the fair. This year there are 42 international galleries participating in Artissima for the first time, hailing from 4 continents, and this is a number that reflects the specialization in scouting, and the attraction represented by Artissima for galleries. Over the years, many galleries have taken part in Artissima during the year of their opening, and they have benefited from the fair’s ability to support their activity in terms of contacts with collectors and institutions.

III

AA: A contemporary art fair is not only an event that facilitates the buying and selling of art works, but also a place where galleries, the professional community (journalists, managers, curators, critics, etc.) and the public come together with the aim of discovering new talents or other guidelines in the current artistic practice. What would you highlight from this year's edition? We are interested in the Italian creative scene, which emerging artists’ work will we be able to see at the fair?

LF: For Italian galleries being a part of Artissima means gaining a full vantage point on the global scene, due to the predominance of foreign galleries and an international context that puts them at the centre of a highly competitive milieu. In this edition for 2022 there are many names of artists who are emerging on the Italian scene and have already become part of a European and international network. Among them —just to name a few— there are Marco Giordano (The Modern Institute), Diego Cibelli (Artiaco), Chiara Camoni (SpazioA), Renato Leotta (Sprovieri, Madragoa, Fonti), Davide Stucchi (Simeti, Schamoni), Rossella Biscotti (mor charpentier), Tomaso De Luca (Monitor).

IV

AA: Concerning the art industry, what is Artissima's place in the contemporary art market? What challenges do you face as director?

LF: The current challenge is the growing polarization of fairs, caused by the expansion of the big conglomerates operating on multiple continents and rooted in capital cities. It is a scenario that opens up precious opportunities for more independent fairs with younger galleries, if we are able to offer the latter —and their collectors— a variety of initiatives, addressing different needs such as: those of collectors, those of curators, and even those of museum directors working on the construction of exhibition programs for their institutions. Artissima is ready to be a place that is more open than ever to these needs, where dynamic encounters with new developments in art can happen in an engaging, inclusive context. I believe that one particular example of this approach of Artissima is represented by the three curated sections (Back to the Future, Present Future, Disegni), where the interplay between the section curators, the galleries and the creations of young artists reinforces a network of synergy and cooperation, for the benefit of all the parties involved.

V

AA: What kind of relationships do you establish with other institutions or cultural initiatives in the city? Throughout the year? During the week of the fair?

LF: The construction of the Artissima project is developed inside and outside the fair, with the constant objective of putting the spotlight on the work of the participating galleries and the artists they represent. Turin is a city with a forceful, historic orientation towards the contemporary, which has translated over the years into a remarkable density of institutional spaces for new developments in art. Therefore, the creation of a network of collaboration between institutions and the fair has come quite naturally, with the goal of maximizing the initiatives on view, first of all in qualitative terms. In this sense, a fundamental role has been played by institutions like Castello di Rivoli, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, the GAM (Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea), and Fondazione Merz. But the institutional system of Turin continues to grow, and this year an important project outside the fair is the exhibition Collective Individuals organized by Artissima at Gallerie d’Italia–Torino, the new museum of Intesa Sanpaolo in the city, oriented mostly towards photography and digital media. Curated by Leonardo Bigazzi, the exhibition approaches several crucial social issues of our time, presenting video works most of which have never before been shown in Italy, by artists represented by galleries taking part in Artissima. Elsewhere, in cooperation with the museums of Fondazione Torino Musei, the project So will your voice vibrate features three sound works by Riccardo Benassi, Charwei Tsai and Darren Bader, respectively at GAM, MAO and Palazzo Madama. Furthermore, in the ballroom of the historic hotel Principi di Piemonte, there will be a solo project by Diego Cibelli, Tempo rizomatico.

VI

AA: What complicities do you foster with the other fairs (Paratissima, The Others, DAMA, Flashback) with which you coexist during the first week of November?

LF: These are initiatives that have sprung up spontaneously around Artissima over the years. They all have their own specificities and are completely independent of Artissima.

VII

AA: We believe that a city achieves its best expression through art and culture.  Considering the above, how important is Artissima for Turin? What impact does the fair generate? Why is it relevant to say that your fair contributes positively to Turin's reputation as a brand? We would like you to reflect about these questions to conclude this conversation. It was a pleasure chatting with you!

LF: Artissima has been a powerful driver of internationalization at the service of the city, Piedmont and the country, so much so that it now welcomes a breadth of international visitors, comprised of art professionals, collectors and journalists, who converge on the city for Artissima. Over the years, thanks to the efforts of many people, the relationship between Artissima and Turin has grown into a dynamic and collaborative interchange between the fair, civic institutions and the region of Piedmont. A network has developed across multiple sectors and today those who come to Artissima see the fair as an enriching experience where they can explore multiple spheres, from art to cultural tourism, agriculture to cuisine.

LUIGI FASSI is the current director of Artissima, International Fair of Contemporary Art Torino. He has also been the artistic director of MAN, the Museum of Art of the Province of Nuoro, from 2018 to 2022. He held the position of visual art curator at the Steirischer Herbst Festival in Graz, Austria, from 2012 to 2017, and from 2009 to 2012 he was the artistic director of Kunstverein ar/ge kunst in Bolzano. A Helena Rubinstein Curatorial Fellow at the Whitney Museum ISP of New York in 2008-09, he has organized exhibitions for various institutions on an international level. From 2010 to 2017 he was the curator and coordinator of the Present Future section of Artissima, Torino. In 2016 he was a fellow of the Artis Research Trip programme in Tel Aviv, Israel, co-curator of the festival Curated_by in Vienna, Austria, and of the 16th edition of the Art Quadriennale of Rome. He has been a member of the selection committee of the Artorama contemporary art fair in Marseille (2019-2022), and curator of the project Tomorrows/Today at the Cape Town Art Fair in South Africa (2019-2022).

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