BRUSSELS, BELGIUM.- ArtBrussels may well have a youthful image, but it is in fact based on 25 years of experience. In 1968, a humble art fair was born. Art Actuel, as it was named at the time, was a cutting-edge biennial with art from leading galleries, exhibiting at the invitation of Belgian gallery owners. In 1997 the foundation was laid for a new future. Important changes, such as the changeover from a biennial to an annual show, made the art fair evolve to become an event of internationally recognised importance. Nowadays artbrussels is a real premier league player on the international art scene.

From the very beginning, artbrussels has profiled itself as a contemporary art fair that pays just as much attention to established artists as it does to new talent. artbrussels is a much-loved event by international art collectors and curators since it is a place where one can find genuinely new discoveries. Within Europe, artbrussels’ content and character allows it to identify itself as the contemporary art fair of the moment.

The 25th anniversary of artbrussels will not go unmarked! For this jubilee edition, the fair will be restyled and a variety of projects will be initiated: an exhibition with a selection of 25 exceptional art works, which have been bought at artbrussels over the years, will be on display; the main Belgian museums will be presented in a special exhibition that exposes works by young contemporary artists; Karen Renders, director of the fair, will invite a number of trend-setting Belgian artists to create a unique intervention for the fair.

The selection of participants for this 25th edition was made by the International Selection Committee: Albert Baronian - Baronian-Francey (Brussels), Elena Buchmann - Buchman Galerie (Berlin-Lugano), Helga Conrads-Galerie Conrads (Düsseldorf), Jo Coucke- Deweer Art Gallery (Otegem), Rodolphe Janssen-Galerie Rodolphe Janssen (Brussels), Nathalie Obadia-Galerie Nathalie Obadia (Paris) and Tanya Rumpff - Galerie Tanya Rumpff (Haarlem).

From more than 340 applications, 150 galleries have been selected to participate in artbrussels, which takes places at Brussels Expo from 20 - 23 April 2007.

The complete spectrum of artistic disciplines will be on show: paintings, drawings, installations, video art, photography,…. If there is a common thread amongst this diverse representation of creative energy it is embodied in the quality, innovation and international character of the artists presented and the programmes of the galleries on show. At artbrussels ‘international’ is no empty slogan, with participants coming from some 20 countries (80% of the galleries are from outside Belgium). Finally, the selection is based on the quality of the art, established or new talent alike.

The selected artists and galleries will be exhibiting in clearly defined zones:

First Call: promising galleries who will participate for the first time and that have been nominated by the Collectors’ Committee, which was established in 2004, and whose members include: Jacqueline d’Amécourt (Groupe Lhoist), Wilfried Cooreman, Mimi Dusselier, Filiep Libeert, Cédric Liénart de Jeude, Baudouin Michiels (Belgacom Art), Benedikt van der Vorst, Bruno Van Lierde and Mark Vanmoerkerke.

Young Talent: young galleries emphasising the youthful and innovative character of artbrussels.

Galleries: art galleries of exceptional high quality and with an established pedigree that offer a guaranteed unique overview of contemporary art talent. Within this zone, 15 galleries will present a Solo Show, one of them will be selected by the Collectors’ Committee as the best Solo Show.

Modern and Contemporary Design: this brand new zone, introduced in 2006, promises to be another amazing success.