The Turin-based art fair Artissima has appointed Ilaria Bonacossa as its new director. She will helm the fair’s next three iterations between 2017 and 2019.
Bonacossa is currently artistic director of the Public Museum for Contemporary Art Villa Croce in Genoa. Previously, she was curator at the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, from 2002 to 2009. The art historian curator has served as a member on the technical committee for acquisitions of FRAC Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in Marseilles, and the scientific committee of PAC, Milan.
“I am happy to return to Torino: a city that I love and where I lived for almost ten years. Since 2002, I have not missed a single edition of Artissima, and I believe that the quality of the fair’s cultural offer is undeniable. I take up this important legacy with responsibility and enthusiasm, and I believe that the strength and the international excellence of Torino’s cultural institutions make Artissima an exceptional opportunity for Italian contemporary art,” Bonacossa said in a statement.
Bonacossa succeeds Sarah Cosulich, who has served as director for five years since 2012, extending her original three-year appointment.
“Leading this organization has been a precious opportunity and a great challenge, and I am proud of the astonishing results that, together with our wonderful team, we have achieved,” Cosulich said in a statement. “I present back to the city a healthy and strong project both commercially and artistically, a fair with a unique experimental and curatorial identity which has become one of the most respected international events.”
Collector and patron Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, whose foundation is one of the key art institutions in the city, commented in an email to artnet News, “[Bonacossa] worked with us at the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo for seven years, since the opening of our Turin venue in 2002, curating many important exhibitions. I have followed and appreciated her work as director of Villa Croce in Genoa, and the expertise and relationships she has developed since will make her a brilliant director for Artissima. Her contribution will continue the work that Sarah Cosulich did with dedication and competence, and that enabled the fair to reach visibility and international prestige.”
Bonacossa was selected from a shortlist nominated by an external committee, formed by Andrea Bellini, director of the Centre d’Art Contemporain Geneva; business entrepreneur Michela Bondardo; art historian Silvia Evangelisti; economist Guido Guerzoni; and Tate Liverpool artistic director Francesco Manacorda. Bellini and Manacorda were both directors of Artissima, between 2007 and 2009, and between 2010 and 2012, respectively.