Colombia will be the featured country in ARCO Madrid 2015

Colombia will be the next country featured in ARCOmadrid, for the event's 34th edition, to be held from February 25th through March 1st, 2015. The selection of Colombia—according to the fair's press release—is due to the country's "growing importance in the art scene and the boom it has experienced in the last decade with the establishment of new art galleries, private and public museums, art fairs, biennials, artist-driven cultural spaces, collectors, curators, fine-arts institutions, and auction houses". The decision emphasizes that the country's capital, Bogotá, has more than 60 art galleries and 58 museums, and that cities like Medellin and Cali have important offerings in terms of independent and alternative, artist-managed cultural spaces, institutions, curators, and collectors, all of whom contribute to the enrichment of the arts scene. One point of reference is the establishment of FLORA ars+natura, a space for contemporary art in Bogotá, focusing on the production of curated projects and on international artist's residences, which is helmed by José Roca, Latin American Art Curator at Tate Modern in London. According to ARCOmadrid officials, there are other Colombian curators, like Roca, who have achieved international renown: Juan Andrés Gaitán, the curator of the upcoming8th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art, or María Inés Rodríguez, recently named Director of the CAPC in Bordeaux and formerly the chief conservator at the Musac in León. In order to foster exchanges between Latin America and Europe, ARCOmadrid is organizing also a meeting of Latin American and European museums, as well as a variety of forums and summits with the presence of renowned Latin American professionals, including, from Colombia, Inti Guerrero, Manuela Moscoso, and Catalina Lozano. The name of the curator for the section Focus Colombia at ARCOmadrid 2015 will be announced soon.