BARCELONA.- SWAB Barcelona was founded in 2006 as an initiative of Diezy7 Contemporary Art Collection, in Barcelona. From its inception it has had the support of important national and international galleries as well as the Ajuntament de Barcelona and the Generalitat de Catalunya.
2007 was the first edition which was attended by 42 galleries from 13 different countries. Over 6,000 visitors made SWAB an International Fair of Contemporary Art in Barcelona's cultural scene.
In 2008 SWAB consolidated its position in the international art scene by bringing together 38 emerging galleries from 11 countries. The number of visitors totaled 8,000.
After a necessary pause, in 2010 Swab Barcelona reaffirms as an International Art Fair counting on this occasion with the presence of 32 galleries from 11 countries. The new location in the Italian Pavilion was a great success, visited by 13,000 people, which confirmed the change of location.
In 2011 Swab Barcelona improved its expectations getting the influx of more than 15,000 visitors, offering new and different activities and spaces for the promotion of Emerging Contemporary Art national and international. Its fourth edition involved the participation of 48 galleries from 15 countries which confirmed the interest of the fair. This was the year when SWAB introduced a new program of complementary activities, in order to transcend the stage of the fair to the rest of the city.
SWAB OFF, program of parallel activities, presented SentARTE, Swab Stairs, Diezy7 Collection Exhibition and SwabMove, among others.
All these initiatives counted on the cooperation of various institutions, private companies and Artistic platforms in Barcelona, the aim being to give greater visibility to the emerging contemporary art and bring it closer to the citizens.
The latest edition of Swab Barcelona broke his own record by having the presence of more galleries than any other previous edition, with 64 galleries from 20 countries who managed to make the Fair a meeting necessary for Emerging Contemporary Art in the international scene.
New activities were incorporated into the Fair, such as B.A.D (Barcelona Art District) that gave the opportunity to more than 20 street artists to paint the 200 m of wall that surrounded the square. Another new activity was SWAB MUSIC, a collaboration with Sala Razzmatazz where young bands played their music during the nights of the Fair. Furhtermore, Moritz featured a Chill Out. La Fábrica Moritz also hosted the exhibition of selected works from the Collection Diezy7.
Swab Barcelona 2013, International Contemporary Art Fair, opens its doors from 3 to 6 October, positioning itself at the beginning of the Catalan artistic season and adapting to the international calendar of art fairs.
Established Art galleries presenting national and international emerging artists: →3 Punts Galeria, Barcelona; AJG Gallery, Sevilla; Galeria +R, Barcelona; AL Gallery, San Petersburgo; Galería Alonso Vidal, Barcelona; Arte Boccanera, Trento; Artra Gallery, Milan; Galería Atelier, Barcelona; Galería Balaguer, Barcelona; Bonelli Lab, Canneto; Espai [b], Barcelona; Faur Zsófi Gallery, Budapest; FRED Ltd, Londres; Gerhardt Braun Gallery, Palma de Mallorca; Jarmuschek+Partner, Berlin; Kuhn & Partner, Berlin; Marc Decoene, Erolzheim, Barcelona, Paris; Galleria Monteoliveto, Nápoles; Monteoliveto Gallery Project, Niza; Galeri Merkur, Istambul; N2 Galería, Barcelona; Galeria Sicart, Vilafranca del Penedès; Studiocromie; Galeria Trama, Barcelona; Galería Victor Lope, Barcelona.