ARCOlisboa 2023
ARCOlisboa, an international contemporary art fair held in Lisbon, Portugal, is experiencing growth and expanding its reach. The sixth edition of the fair features 86 galleries from 23 countries, with 55 galleries in the General Programme, 23 galleries in the curated section called Opening Lisboa, and 8 galleries in África en Foco. The fair will span four days, with May 25th reserved exclusively for collectors and professionals, and opening to the public from May 26th to May 28th.
ARCOlisboa, organised by IFEMA MADRID and Câmara Municipal de Lisboa, aims to showcase Portugal’s art scene alongside Spanish, European, and African art. The event attracts galleries, artists, collectors, curators, professionals, museums, and art centers from around the world, solidifying Lisbon’s position as a prominent art and culture hub in Europe.
The fair consists of three main components: the General Programme featuring 55 galleries, the curated section Opening Lisboa with 23 galleries, and África en Foco highlighting 8 selected galleries. The General Programme has expanded to include new galleries and returning participants, while the curated sections aim to showcase new galleries and provide a platform for discovery.
ARCOlisboa also incorporates additional programs such as ArtsLibris, which offers a space dedicated to artist publications, contemporary thinking, and digital publications, and the Millennium Art Talks, which facilitate discussions and reflections on contemporary art. The fair also collaborates with local institutions to offer exhibitions and events parallel to the main fair.
The fair caters to collectors, professionals, and the general public, with special initiatives to attract young visitors. Various spaces within the Cordoaria Nacional venue provide rest and restaurant areas for visitors. Moreover, Lisbon’s museums and cultural institutions will host exhibitions and events during the fair, complementing the art-filled atmosphere.
The General Programme
The fair’s backbone, the General Programme, has grown and comprises 55 galleries handpicked by the Organising Committee, with the incorporation of major galleries participating for the first time including Carlier | Gebauer, Document, Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman, Fernando Pradilla and The Goma. Additionally, some participants return after missing an edition or two, such as Fernández-Braso, Georg Kargl, MPA- Moisés Pérez de Albéniz and Pelaires, while others including Lehmann + Silva and NO·NO join the general section after their participation in Opening Lisboa last year.
Other renowned galleries return to once again place their trust in the fair including Bruno Múrias, Cristina Guerra Contemporary Art, Francisco Fino, Madragoa, Pedro Cera, Vera Cortês. The growth of the General Programme also reflects in new contents such as the 11 SOLO projects that present the work of international artists in depth.
The Opening Lisboa
For its part, the Opening Lisboa section reflects ARCOlisboa’s interest in showing new galleries which, either because of their short trajectory or because they are novel for the Portuguese context, present interesting proposals and open the door to discovering new creators. Similarly, through the Opening Lisboa section, selected by Chus Martínez and Luiza Teixeira de Freitas, with the collaboration of Diogo Pinto, the fair enables the exploration of 23 galleries, such as Anca Poterasu, Britta Rettberg, Livie Gallery, Menoparkas, Portas Vilaseca, Ravnikar, making its debut in the programme, or Artbeat, Atm, Foco, Rodríguez Gallery and The Ryder Projects, who are returning. The Opening Lisboa space is specially designed by the Portuguese architecture firm Feeders.
For the fourth year, ARCOlisboa presents the Opening Lisboa Award, with a jury comprising Beatriz Alonso, Ela Bittencourt, Lucía Casani, Natxo Checa, Bárbara Rodríguez, Manuel Segade and Luis Silva, to distinguish the best stand in the section, gifting the winner its exhibition space at the Fair.
The África en Foco
The art contents of this edition of the Fair are completed with the África en Foco programme, which once again turns the spotlight on an exploration of contemporary art from the African continent, through the participation of 8 galleries selected by Paula Nascimento. It includes galleries from Morocco -African Arty -, South Africa –Afronova and Guns & Rain-, Mozambique -Arte de Gema-, and from France -193 Gallery-, Germany -Artco- and Portugal -.insofar and Perve-, with individual stands interspersed throughout the fair. These contents are completed with those of other African galleries participating in the General Programme, such as L’ Atelier 21 Art Gallery, from Morocco, and the Angolans Movart and This Is Not A White Cube. As a novelty, ARCOlisboa grants the First Fundação Millenium BCP Award for the best stand at the fair, with a jury made up of Filipa Oliveira and Julia Morandeira.
ARCOlisboa 2023
Location: Cordoaria Nacional | Av. da Índia – 1300-598 Lisboa
Duration: May 26 – May 28, 2023