Art San Diego 2012 Gets "Hyperlocal" with New Art City

Art San Diego (ASD) Contemporary Art Fair returns with its 4th Edition September 6–9, 2012. For 2012, Co-Founders Ann Berchtold and Julie Schraeger along with the Curatorial Director Marcela Quiroz Luna have decided to step away from the Art Fair template to reintroduce the concept of the Art Fair to San Diego with a hyperlocal approach that appeals to a national audience. This year’s ASD programming will include many new highlights, including the New Art City and some returning, like the LaunchPad Exhibition.

“In 2012 ASD introduces a thoughtful and multifaceted approach to the planning, design, and the curation of the fair’s public realm in order to unite people around a common spirit and provide a different way of experiencing the Art Fair and San Diego,” said Berchtold.

ASD proudly launches New Art City – a dynamic forum for art, design, and creative ideas that draws inspiration from great public spaces. The re-location to Balboa Park gives us the opportunity to develop an “urban compound” both inside the venue and throughout the grounds of Balboa Park. The show layout will include districts each with its own character, dedicated to the following disciplines: contemporary art, contemporary product and furniture design, mid-century and modern art, and an area designated for experimental works. Each district will have its own social center allowing places to sit and talk with artists, dealers and experience art in motion.

“We’ve challenged our ability to reinvent ourselves and questioned our expectations as to what an Art Fair can be and what it can expect from us,” said Quiroz Luna. “For this must be the time for constructing new routes to reconnect, reinvigorate and reclaim the ways in which an art fair can relate, entice and nurture to/from its community. Public space cannot simply be measured by its physical attributes—but must also embrace its potential to serve people.”

Also part of ASD 2012 is the LaunchPad Program, featuring Miguel Fernández, an acclaimed emerging regional artist. Born in Hermosillo, Sonora, México in 1986, Fernández studied Plastic Arts at the Universidad de Sonora, 2006-2008. He currently lives and works in Tijuana.

Some of Miguel’s collective exhibitions include: Confesiones in Los Angeles, CA, Boundaries: Selections from the MOLAA Permanent Collection, in Los Angeles, CA; Intrascendencias, in Mexicali, Baja California; Distancia Relativa, in Tijuana; Contemporary Art of Sonora, in Culiacán, Sinaloa; and Sobre lo Impuro, in Hermosillo. He also has a solo exhibition: Imposturas, in Hermosillo. Click here to learn more about Fernández.

“LaunchPad 2011 featured two artists: Jonathan Hernández and César Vázquez – with their own gallery, NODO: an emergent space founded by them in Tijuana. This was a great success for the 2011 edition. The artists both sold 90% of the work available over the three days. They had a chance to network and get input by numerous gallery dealers and collectors. In addition, they had the opportunity to show their work to important local museum directors. Both artists felt this experience helped them professionalize their practice; revalue their own conception about their work; and opened in their minds a whole new set of possibilities to pursue in the light of a very promising artistic future they were able to asses from the high praises received by fair attendants,” said Quiroz Luna.

About Art San Diego:
The stage for ASD is Balboa Park, a 1,200-acre cultural and recreational oasis in the heart of San Diego — the largest such urban park in America. Balboa Park features a wide variety of museums, exhibitions, performing arts, world-famous gardens, recreational facilities, restaurants, and other attractions that serve over 12 million visitors annually. With New Art City, ASD aims to insert itself as a key actor in this production, nurturing and strengthening San Diego’s art scene with a dynamic agenda.

ASD 2011 experienced tremendous success – exceeding targets for attendance with over 8,000 visitors and reporting strong sales by galleries. In 2012 we anticipate that more than 60 leading galleries from the USA, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and Asia will be taking part. In addition to the gallery booths, special features include gallery-curated exhibitions, “Spotlight Artists” featured in solo-artist exhibitions, video-based works featured in “IN/TO Creating Short Film Program”, artistic interventions in public spaces “Art Labs”, San Diego focused exhibitions “Made in San Diego”, and the introduction of emerging artists and curators with the “LaunchPad Program”. ASD offers a strong diversity of exhibitors and hopes to attract a new generation of art collectors by introducing work that can be purchased within the limitations of almost any budget. A strong emphasis is placed on providing stimulating conversation about art acquisition, educational opportunities for both novice and experienced collectors, and personal talks with artists, film-makers, and designers.

SPONSORS: The Presenting Sponsor is UBS Financial Services. Exclusive Sponsors include Hub International Insurance Services - Insurance Advisor; Chubb Personal Insurance - Insurance Sponsor; Winston Art Group - Art Appraisal Advisor Group; San Diego Magazine - Media Sponsor; Craters & Freighters – Art Shipping, ArtWorks San Diego – Art Handling; and St. Petersburg Vodka – Beverage Sponsor.

Location:
Balboa Park Activity Center
2145 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA 92101

Dates and opening hours:
Gallery Load-In: Wednesday, Sept. 5th
Opening Night VIP Event: Thursday, September 6th
Open Fair Days: Friday, Sept. 7th – Sunday, Sept. 9th
Daily from noon to 7 p.m.
Closing day from noon to 5 p.m.
 
For more information about ART SAN DIEGO Contemporary Art Fair http://artsandiego-fair.com.

Press Contact:
Jennifer Von Stauffenberg
Olive PR Solutions, Inc.
350 West Ash Street, #103
San Diego, CA 92101
619-955-5285