Report 2007

The year 2006-2007 has been be a period of great efforts and important recognition. The important collaboration with Gemmo s.p.a., a leading company in engineering construction services and facility management, was the first institutional sponsor to Viafarini, as well as the American Center Foundation Grant, the prestigious international prize given to Viafarini, both of which have demonstrated an experimental spirit in supporting emerging artists in the course of various projects.

Amongst these, with the collaboration of Provincia di Milano the project Milano on the Move began in 2006, enabling artists a certain ‘mobility’ abroad. In other words, by inviting various directors of prestigious international art institutions to participate in a residence and research program in Milan, this has proved to be an invaluable opportunity for Italian artists to display their work and get in contact with foreign curators, thus establishing possible forms of collaborations abroad. Amongst the participants in 2006 were Karin Eklund from the Delfina Projects in London, Els van Odijk from the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam, Christoph Tannert, from the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, Euridice Arratia from the Art-Omi in New York. Whereas in 2007 the proposal was accepted by Vasif Kortun from the Platform Garantì in Istanbul, Chus Martinez from the Frankfurter Kunstverein and Katerina Gregos from Argos in Brussels.
As a result of the relations formed during Milano on the Move, Viafarini has since 2006 been responsible for organizing the residence program abroad for the winner of the Premio Furla per l’Arte. Furthermore, it has become a point of reference for artists applying to the residence program of the Rijkakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam.

Report 2008-2010

2008 was marked by the opening of the new venue of Viafarini at Fabbrica del Vapore, a renovated industrial site. In this prestigious site Viafarini runs a 150 sq. mt. project space.
In the same also opened DOCVA Documentation Center for Visual Arts, collects and divulges documentation material about contemporary visual arts: books, magazines, videos, artists’ portfolios and information about international organizations. These materials were gathered within the activities organized by Careof and Viafarini, through the portfolio viewing program and the video post-production service, as well as through purchase and donations. The materials are available for consultation at the DOCVA reading room, as well as online through specific databases. These related data banks allow to carry out researches according to different criteria, as well as to view images of works of art and videos. DOCVA makes use of a network of collaborations with international organizations and Italian organizations promoting contemporary artistic research, among them Artegiovane, Fondazione Antonio Ratti, Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa, Fondazione Querini Stampalia - Premio Furla, Fondazione Spinola Banna per l’Arte.

Within its historical site in Via Farini 35, Viafarini has in the meantime established the VIR Viafarini-in-residence, the new program that permits artists and\or curators to spend a period of research in Milan. The residence constitutes of four apartments on the first floor, in addition to the two artist’s studios within the exhibitive area in Viafarini.

Nel 2009 e nel 2010, As crowning achievement of its 20 years long activities for the promotion of the most experimental artistic research, Viafarini has been invited to take part in both editions of No Soul for Sale: A Festival of Independents. The initiative, conceived in 2009 by Cecilia Alemani, Maurizio Cattelan and Massimiliano Gioni, represent a chance to promote on the international scene the activities of the most creative and representative non profit indipendent spaces from all over the world. On the occasion of the 2nd edition in 2010, held at Tate Modern London for the tenth anniversary of the museum, Viafarini presented Souvenir d’Italie. A nonprofit art story, a book that aims at presenting the story and the protagonists of theItalian contemporary artworld from 1991 to the present day, through the experience of a renowned Milanese nonprofit organization. Not only does the volume describe the core activities of the organization, it also brings together evidence, documents, photographs as well as previously unpublished works.