Artissima 2022 A Cutting-Edge International Contemporary Art Fair in Turin An Interview with Luigi Fassi

Artissima is a leading Italian contemporary art fair established in 1994 that focuses on experimentation and research. Every year, it brings nearly two hundred galleries from all over the world to participate in the event based in Turin. The 29^th edition of Artissima will take place from 4^th to 6^th November and will be led for the first time by Luigi Fassi who was recently appointed its new director. We talked to Luigi about the fair and what we will see at Artissima this year. 

Aleksandra Mainka-Pawłowska: Although it seems that we can finally put the pandemic behind us, its effects can still be felt in different areas of our lives. With the help of innovation and technology, we found new ways to connect using digital solutions and virtual reality. Does the post-pandemic Artissima look different as well?

Luigi Fassi: Artissima went through the pandemic in 2020-21 by seeing it as an opportunity for structural change, which translated into major digital developments for the production of content. This approach has been put in place not so much to facilitate the reception of traditional content but to stimulate the production of new material, emphasizing dialogue and relations, such as the presentations of projects, works and sections in the fair. For this 2022 edition, the Artissima Voice Over platform powered by Fondazione Compagnia di Sanpaolo accompanies the three curated sections’ full physical return to the fair, creating a synergy between the in-person and online presence of the fair, a strategy that will be taken forward in the future. In general, the objective of these developments is to simplify the exploration of Artissima, making all its segments and narratives more fluid and intelligible. This year we have launched a new project of digital audio guides, via smartphone at the fair site, offering independent access to thematic tours, as if Artissima were a museum in which you can discover works, stories and pathways in greater depth, and in a less frenetic way.

AMP: We are currently facing a looming financial and cost of living crisis all over the world. To what extent do you think it will affect art fairs? Is Artissima bracing for its impact?

LF: We are going through a period in which the acceleration of global geopolitical events has become a part of everyday life, the rule and not the exception. Art fairs — even more so after the pandemic — have been able to bring value to their relational role, where apart from market factors contacts are created, curators stay abreast of new trends, ideas for exhibitions and projects are formulated and institutional collections are expanded. In particular, at a fair like Artissima, the galleries of the younger generation can reinforce their operative model, heading forward through further development of their entrepreneurial and artistic projects. These are all opportunities that will assign priority to fairs, for the activities of the galleries and sector professionals. I believe the fair format will continue to grow, but we will have to nurture it with original and innovative content, maximizing the quality of the host location, in a virtuous interchange between the fair and art institutions, to offer an explorative experience on multiple levels, from art to cultural tourism.

AMP: Can you tell us more about the artists we will see at Artissima this year? Does the art fair focus on promoting local art or does it have a more international character?

LF: Artissima is the only Italian fair devoted exclusively to contemporary art, and this year too, as in the past, we have a percentage of international galleries and artists that is higher than the quota of Italians. International galleries find facilitated entry at Artissima into the system of Italian collecting and institutions, while for Italian galleries taking part in Artissima means gaining a vivid perception of the global scene, thanks to an international context that puts them at the centre of a highly competitive plateau. One section entirely focused on talent scouting of artists and galleries is New Entries, where the participating galleries have less than five years of activity behind them, with a strong focus on research and on working with young artists.

AMP: The theme of this year’s edition is Transformative Experience. How is it going to be reflected throughout the event?

LF: The theme for this year’s edition is Transformative Experience, seen as a part of our lives and our evolution. A transformative experience is one that opens up new horizons to our senses, thoughts and emotions, to the point of enabling us to profoundly change as people. The American contemporary philosopher Laurie Ann Paul (professor of philosophy at Yale University), in her book of the same title, Transformative Experience (2014), asserts that personally transformative experiences are those which we cannot foresee or rationally predict, because nothing can replace the living manifestation of the revelation of territory previously unknown to us. From Paul’s thinking, we have taken inspiration that also sheds light on the way we experience art. Those who choose to encounter art in all its revelatory forms within their lives are already accustomed to the enriching experience of the unknown, to having faith in innovation and the potential of their own personal change. This is a conceptual framework that replenishes the nature of Artissima, a fair that explores and anticipates the current moment, looks to the near future, desires it, and endeavours to capture it, to bring it into concrete experience.

In these months we have continued our dialogue with Laurie Ann Paul, who will be in Turin throughout the week of Artissima to share in the experience of the fair and will give a lecture at the Oval on Saturday 5 November at 3:30 PM, sponsored by our partner Jaguar.

AMP: Artissima 2022 will include three sections curated by teams of international curators. Can you tell us more about their role and what they will feature?

LF: As mentioned, for the 2022 edition we have brought the curated sections back with a physical presence within the fair — the first time since 2019 — while revising the curatorial team involved in their organization. Disegni, Present Future and Back to the Future are monographic narratives, each with a particular focus, on the work of 35 artists of very different backgrounds and generations, often presenting works never shown elsewhere, summing up a year of work and research on the part of the curators. Disegni is on the medium of drawing, seen as the original matrix of artistic thinking. Present Future explores artists of the younger generation, while Back to the Future presents works made since 1960 by artists who have been pioneers of contemporary languages, some of whom are awaiting rediscovery.

AMP: Each year, the art fair brings together thousands of visitors. What are the demographics of Artissima — are most of the visitors experienced art collectors?

LF: Artissima is primarily aimed at a specific community, that of collectors and contemporary art professionals, including museum directors, curators, critics, artists, and patrons of institutions. This community is extended and accompanied by a more general audience of art lovers who frequently attend exhibitions, stay up to date and want to have the experience of an art fair at least once a year. Last but not least, we should also mention families, which Artissima attracts through the project Artissima Junior, produced in partnership with Juventus, the football club of Turin. This is a true creative art workshop for kids, overseen this year by the Italian artist Giovanni Ozzola.

AMP: Many events, installations and exhibitions will accompany Artissima. Which one are you looking forward to seeing the most?

LF: I would definitely highlight the exhibition project Collective Individuals, a show of video works organised by Artissima and curated by Leonardo Bigazzi at Gallerie d’Italia — Torino, the new museum of contemporary photography of the bank Intesa Sanpaolo. This project, through works presented for the first time in Italy by artists represented by galleries participating in Artissima 2022, addresses the growing social and economic polarization of contemporary societies, and the difficulty for individuals to see themselves as part of a wide community of solidarity, based on shared freedoms and rights. I believe this is one of the key issues of our time, and it is urgent to observe how artists are working on this theme.