ZOO 2009 with two Swiss Galleries Oct 2009

With Mitterrand & Sanz and Faye Fleming & Partner, 16 – 19 October, Shoreditch High Street, London

 

Within a new multi-site location situated in the East End, the producers of Zoo Art Fair presented Zoo 2009. This year’s event took on an adapted structure, bringing together over 50 contemporary arts organizations and practitioners through a series of exhibitions, solo shows besides the usual stand presentations. These included specially curated exhibitions by Rob Tufnell, Studio Voltaire, Form Content and LUX; presentations of solo shows by the winner of the 2008 Champagne Perrier-Jouët Prize, Scoli Acosta, and the winner of the 2008 John Jones Art on Paper Award, Clunie Reid; as well as 14 solo work statements and of course 25 stand presentations by young international art galleries and project spaces.

 

Furthermore, the event presented a new section selling artists’ editions and multiples from major private and public institutions as well as an East End Map, highlighting over 60 contemporary art organizations within a two-mile distance of Zoo 2009. Representing all types, from emerging to established, public to private, commercial to non-commercial spaces, it offered visitors a unique insight into the richness of what is known to be Europe’s largest cultural quarter.

 

The costs incurred when participating in events such as Zoo 2009 abroad make it difficult for younger art organizations to fund their participation. The collaboration between Zoo and the Swiss Cultural Fund in Britain, through which Swiss exhibitors receive a substantial contribution towards the cost of their stand, aims to alleviate part of this financial burden, allowing the organizations to achieve the best presentation possible. In 2009 Zoo Enterprises selected, and the SCFB subsequently supported, the presentations by Swiss Galleries Mitterrand & Sanz and Faye Fleming & Partner.

 

The SCFB is glad to have once again had the opportunity, for the third consecutive year, to support young and upcoming Swiss Galleries at ZOO 2009. It is important for the Swiss art scene to be able to compete on an international level, commercially as well as artistically.