17th SP-Arte opens in Brazil’s São Paulo with both in-person and online visitation

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – In its 17th edition, SP-Arte (São Paulo International Art Festival) takes place from October 20th to 24th at ARCA, a 9,000 square meter warehouse located in the Vila Leopoldina neighborhood of São Paulo city.

After last year’s virtual edition, this year’s fair will introduce art lovers and collectors to a hybrid model, with the return of in-person activities as well as online visitation through SP-Arte’s digital space – The Viewing Room.

“This will be a historic edition. It will have the energy of a face-to-face fair combined with the enormous reach of its online module. Putting the fair online, as we did last year and how we are going to do this year, breaks physical barriers, opening it up to people who could not be here in person,” SP-Arte founder, Fernanda Feitosa, tells The Rio Times.

For this edition, SP-Arte, considered the most significant art fair in Latin America, will rely on the participation of 125 exhibitors, including art and design galleries, specialized publishers, museums, and artist groups with special projects.

“SP-Arte contributes to and is an essential part of São Paulo’s cultural calendar. The entire (art) circuit is eager to meet up again,” says the fair’s creator.

According to Feitosa, this year’s fair continues its tradition of bringing together major national and international art galleries for the event.

Among Brazilian galleries participating are names such as Galeria Millan (SP), Galeria Luisa Strina (SP), and Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel (SP – Rio). Outside the Rio-SP axis, SP-Arte counts on the presence of Galeria Karla Osorio (Brasília) and Paulo Darzé Galeria (Salvador).

Also participating are Brazilian galleries with international projection, such as Mendes Wood DM (São Paulo – NY – Brussels), Nara Roesler (São Paulo – NY – Rio de Janeiro) and Galeria Jaqueline Martins (São Paulo – Brussels).

International galleries in this year’s event include Galleria Continua (Brazil, Italy, China, Canada, Cuba, and France), Galeria de las Misiones (Uruguay), Opera Gallery (USA), Piero Atchugarry Gallery (USA), Marian Goodman Gallery (USA, France, and England), and Patricia Ready Art Gallery (Chile).

Among the highlights of the fair, Galeria Millan presents a sculpture by Brazilian artist Tunga, measuring approximately 2mx1m, made in the early 2000s by the artist, who died in 2016.

Also expected to draw attention is Vicente do Rego Monteiro (1899-1970), which was first exhibited in the Modern Art Week of 1922, an event that many say started Brazil’s modernism art era.

Feitosa stresses that this year, as in past editions, the fair also welcomes newer galleries redesigning the visual arts circuit, such as Quadra (RJ) and HOA (SP), focusing on emerging artists.

“This year, we will have new galleries, as well as new, exciting, upcoming artists,” says Feitosa, adding, “this year’s event will also have a strong Afro-Brazilian presence.”

Francisco Nuk is one of the new and upcoming artists Feitosa is proud to introduce at this year’s fair.

“I feel tremendous excitement,” says the 31-year-old artist from Belo Horizonte.

“SP-Arte is a gateway to the biggest collectors in Latin America, as well as curators and institutions. It is an important showcase for the work of a new artist,” adds Nuk, who only started working with art and design three years ago.

“I have great expectations. My gallery (Galeria Lume) takes powerful artworks that have not yet been presented to the world. So, I’m curious about the repercussion that these works will have,” he concludes.

The fair is giving new artists a chance to show their work and allowing newer galleries to exhibit their collections.

Founded in 2017 by Marcela Setton, Quadra Gallery, located in Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, is one of the galleries debuting at this year’s fair. “Participating in the in-person edition of SP-Arte is a significant step for us as a Rio gallery. This year we opened a temporary gallery in São Paulo in June, July, and August, and this second moment of the presentation of Quadra to the São Paulo public will be important,” Setton tells The Rio Times.

According to Setton, the gallery works with new artists whose productions propose an openness to the experimental field in the contemporary Brazilian art scene. “In the certainty that art is transformative and should not be inaccessible, Quadra’s mission is to make it part of everyday life,” says Setton.

The gallery owner says she found this hybrid model exciting since ‘collectors can browse the stand in advance before visiting the fair in person, mapping their favorite works even before the visit’. “After a hiatus of almost two years without SP-Arte in person, we believe that the public is looking forward to this live meeting,” concludes Setton.

According to the organizers, SP-Arte will also make available five audio guides for an immersive experience. Developed by researchers Frederico Coelho and Camila Bechelany, the guides will cover essential topics of Brazilian art, from modernism to contemporaneity. The audio guides will also be made available on the website for those who visit the event in the Viewing Room.

The public will follow SP-Arte’s social networks, which will also broadcast the event Meet The Artists, with live interviews that explore the diversity of emerging names in the Brazilian art scene.

Adopting all the necessary security measures, the purchase of tickets is only available online, and visits need to be scheduled beforehand, with limited public capacity during the four-day event. To access the event, it will be necessary to present proof of vaccination (printed or digital) or a negative test for Covid-19, taken within a maximum of 48 hours before the date of the visitation. At the event, the visitor’s temperature will be checked, and masks will be mandatory.

What: 17th SP-Art
When: October 20th to 24th, 2021
Where: ARCA – Av. Manuel Bandeira, 360 – Vila Leopoldina, São Paulo
Hours: Wednesday 12:00pm-9:00pm; Thursday to Saturday 12:00pm- 8:00pm; Sunday 11:00am-6:00pm
To schedule visits: www.sp-arte.com
Tickets: R$25.00 to R$50.00