Weekly arts agenda: ARCO, Hong Kong Arts Festival

(ARCO)

Spain's ARCO Madrid arts festival will celebrate its 30th edition with a revamped program, special anniversary activities and the launch of a free ARCO app for smartphones and tablets which lets you visit the fair virtually.

30th ARCO Madrid
February 16-20
Feria de Madrid
Madrid, Spain

The 30th edition of the Spanish-based arts festival aims to provide a truly global perspective on modern art and emerging creative expression. Around 180,000 visitors will travel to the festival to view cutting-edge contemporary works. Twelve of the fair's 160 galleries hail from Russia in 2011 as part of the event's FOCUS RUSSIA program. Other noteworthy Spanish art events include PHotoEspaña, ArtFutura, Loop and Swab.
http://www.ifema.es/ferias/arco/default_i.html


39th Hong Kong Arts Festival
February 17 - March 27
Various venues
Hong Kong

The region's largest annual arts gathering will feature more than 200 performances and events in 35 venues over 39 days, while showcasing the work of 54 performing groups from overseas and Hong Kong. Among them will be the Leipzig Opera, the Hallé Orchestra, the Basel Chamber Orchestra, Hong Kong's own Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonietta and Chinese Orchestra, plus singer-songwriters Marianne Faithfull and Elvis Costello.
http://www.hk.artsfestival.org


American Craft Council Show
February 24-27
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore, MD, USA

More than 700 contemporary home decor, clothing, furniture and jewelry artists will show their wares at the American Craft Council Show, America's largest juried, indoor craft show. The event provides a wide selection of crafts and artworks including furniture and decorative accessories for lawn & garden, environmentally friendly art, art made by college students and a new section for 2011: handmade objects under $100. The American Craft Council also organizes shows in Atlanta (March 11-13), St. Paul (April 15-17), and San Francisco (August 12-14).
http://shows.craftcouncil.org/baltimore


Paul Gauguin: Maker of Myth
February 27 - June 2
National Gallery of Art
Washington DC, USA

Paul Gauguin's colorful images of Brittany and the South Seas' islands are presented in this exhibit of 120 works, organized by the Tate Modern of London. The first major show in the US of the French artist since a 1988 retrospective, featuring self-portraits, still lifes and landscapes, paintings, pastels, sculpture, and decorated objects. The show explores Gauguin's use of myth and symbol to tell stories, from European culture to Maori legend.
http://www.nga.gov


TED2011
February 28 - March 4
Long Beach, California, USA

TED, an acronym for Technology Entertainment Design, brings together scientific pioneers, visionaries, musicians and provocateurs from around the world for its famous talks. Presentations feature tech demos, video and TEDUniversity sessions. The program extends into evening art exhibits, comedy and experiences. Since 1990, the gatherings have continued to grow, extending to a TEDGlobal in a different country annually. Since 2007, talks are shown online for free and have been viewed 290 million times.
http://www.TED.com


2nd Art Month Sydney
March 1-31
Various venues across Sydney
Sydney, Australia

Sydney celebrates contemporary art with a month-long festival of exhibitions, late night openings, free public talks, behind-the-scenes tours and special events. More than 70 galleries across the city will take part in the event. Like LA Arts Month, Arts Month San Diego, and New York Gallery Week, the event aims to promote local galleries and artists. It also aspires to encourage people to make gallery-going a regular activity in their schedules.
http://artmonthsydney.com/


12th Armory Arts Week
March 3-6
Various locations
New York City, USA

Centered around the Armory Show (New York's biggest art fair), Armory Arts Week has become an international institution that involves artists, galleries, collectors, critics and curators from around the world. Armory Arts Week has been running for 12 years and draws a healthy crowd of around 60,000 international and local visitors. Concurrent art fairs in 2010 included the ADAA Art Show, Volta NY, Independent, Pulse, Scope, Dutch Art Now, Red Dot, Fountain, Pool, Korean Art show and Verge.
http://www.armoryartsweek.com/


12th Armory Show
March 3-6
Piers 92 & 94, Twelfth Avenue at 55th Street
New York, USA

In 2010 60,000 visitors attended New York's leading annual contemporary art fair, The Armory Show. In 2011 The Armory Show will again be split into two categories - Contemporary and Modern Art - showcasing the art of living artists and the masterpieces that inspired them.
http://www.thearmoryshow.com/


5th Art Dubai
March 16-19
Madinat Jumeirah
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

While relatively new on the art scene, Art Dubai has quickly become a hub for contemporary art from the Middle East region and welcomed almost 18,000 visitors in 2010. The fifth edition of Art Dubai brings together more than 80 galleries from the Middle East and around the globe. The event also encompasses an extensive program of collateral events including the Abraaj Capital Art Prize, film screenings, talks and performances at Art Park, and art workshops for refugee and orphaned children as part of START.
http://www.artdubai.ae/


33rd Artexpo New York
March 25-27
Pier 94 on the Hudson River
New York, USA

The international Artexpo bills itself as the world's largest fine art trade show. The event hopes to attract in excess of 10,000 buyers and art enthusiasts, all coming to view and purchase wholesale works directly from artists and publishers. In addition to the large showcase of prints, paintings, drawings, sculptures, photography and ceramics, Artexpo also hosts a special three-day Education Series.
http://artexponewyork.com