Last week, the organisers of Art Basel announced that Buenos Aires has been selected as the first partner of the Art Basel Cities programme, The Art Newspaper reports. In a press release, Art Basel revealed plans to develop their ‘engagement in the art world from staging art fairs to working with cities to develop cultural events with international resonance’. Their role would be to advise and consult on new projects and events (outside the context of the art fair) in cities that will benefit from an active and revitalising arts programme. In an interview with The Art Newspaper in Argentina, global director of Art Basel Marc Spiegler has said: ‘This is not a beachhead for a fair. This is another way in which Art Basel can mix culture and commerce. We will be paid to do this by the city and the city is doing it because they see it as part of the economic and cultural development of Buenos Aires, so it’s not a means, it’s an end.’
12 September 2016
