NEW YORK, NY.- The Armory Show announced today the Presents Booth Prize, a new initiative recognizing an outstanding and innovative gallery presentation within the Presents section of the fair. The Presents Booth Prize is generously supported in its inaugural year by Athena Art Finance.

Presents brings together the most exciting young galleries from around the world, showcasing new work by emerging artists through solo-artist and dual-artist presentations. The winner of the inaugural prize will be selected by an international jury of curators and collectors during the 2017 fair and awarded a prize of $10,000.

“Promoting young galleries and nurturing their growth is central to The Armory Show’s new vision,” says Benjamin Genocchio, Executive Director of The Armory Show. “This initiative came out of conversations we had with galleries around the world who expressed the need for greater financial support in participating. We want to help make it possible for them to do the fair and we are thrilled to offer this prize, which will help cover a gallery’s cost of participation, in partnership with Athena Art Finance.”

Members of the Presents Booth Prize Jury:

• Renee Drake, collector, the Netherlands
• Massimiliano Gioni, Artistic Director, New Museum, New York
• Ruba Katrib, Curator, SculptureCenter, Long Island City
• Alain Servais, collector, Brussels
• Carole Server, collector, New York

The Presents section has continued to expand in size each year since its introduction in 2014. The Presents section received a record number of applications this year and will increase its number of exhibiting galleries from 22 in 2016 to 31 for 2017.

As part of The Armory Show’s new vision of fostering young galleries and staging ambitious projects, the Presents Advisory Panel was established to oversee and guide the direction of this growing section of the fair. Panel members are: Augusto Arbizo, 11R, New York; Philippe Charpentier, mor charpentier, Paris; and Jessica Silverman, Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco.

“As a company we support the art market through financing solutions. We are pleased to give back to the community in partnership with The Armory Show through sponsoring the Armory’s-first-ever-Booth Prize for young galleries. It is an expression of our commitment to strengthening the landscape of galleries globally,’’ says Andrea Danese, Chief Executive Officer of Athena Art Finance.

Athena Art Finance, a New York-based global specialty art lender, will be joining The Armory Show as a lead sponsor for the second consecutive year. Athena’s support for the Presents Booth Prize marks an expanded partnership with the fair and the first ever prize for exhibiting galleries in The Armory Show’s history.