For its 2024 edition in Basel, Art Basel will assemble 287 leading international galleries to showcase artworks of the highest quality across all media, from painting and sculpture to photography and digital works. The artists represented will span from early-twentieth-century Modern pioneers to emerging contemporary practitioners. Art Basel in Basel will reaffirm its unparalleled position as a platform for discovery and encounters that propel the art world forward.
The exceptional diversity of artistic perspectives on display at the fair will be complemented by vibrant events and activities throughout the city and its prominent cultural institutions, highlighting Basel’s unique charm and emphasizing the significant impact of Art Basel on its hometown.
Maike Cruse, Director of Art Basel in Basel, expressed anticipation for the global art community’s arrival in June for the upcoming edition of the show. With 22 new participants, the event promises to be exceptionally dynamic and filled with exciting discoveries. Cruse also noted the expansion of the city-wide program, including the public art sector Parcours on Clarastrasse, newly curated by Stefanie Hessler. Additionally, she looks forward to the project at Hotel Merian, which will contribute to the continued growth of Art Basel’s presence in the city with a fresh approach.
Expanded City-Wide Programming:
Art Basel’s public sector Parcours will see its first curated exhibition by Stefanie Hessler, Director of the Swiss Institute (SI) in New York, succeeding Samuel Leuenberger, who effectively managed and expanded the sector over the past eight years. Hessler’s vision for Parcours aims to recontextualize it as a curated exhibition that will traverse through empty storefronts, a hotel, operational shops, and other urban spaces on Basel’s Clarastrasse, linking the fairgrounds to the Rhine. Through ambitious projects, many of which will be site-specific and newly created, the sector will explore themes of transformation and circulation within the realms of trade and globalization, the flow of information, and the diverse climates and weathers spanning geographies and generations.
Additionally, Art Basel will enhance its presence within the city by utilizing the Hotel Merian as a continuous, around-the-clock venue for artistic events and showcases. The Film sector, curated by writer and curator Filipa Ramos, will return with a captivating selection of moving image works, presented throughout the show week at Basel’s Stadtkino. Free to the public and hosted on Art Basel’s fairground, the renowned Conversations program will be curated for the first time by Berlin-based writer, editor, and educator Kimberly Bradley.
Further details regarding the activation of Hotel Merian and the presentations of Art Basel’s special sectors such as Messeplatz, Unlimited, Parcours, Kabinett, Conversations, and Film will be unveiled in the coming months.
