Swatch + Biennale 2017

Da sempre Swatch ama portare l’arte tra la gente. Partner principale della 57. Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte della Biennale di Venezia per la quarta edizione consecutiva, la casa orologiera svizzera si rivolge ancora una volta ad un pubblico internazionale entusiasta, presentando il prestigioso Swatch Art Peace Hotel di Shanghai e quattro artisti che hanno vissuto e lavorato in questa prestigiosa residenza. 

“La partnership esclusiva accanto alla Biennale d’Arte di Venezia rappresenta per noi una straordinaria opportunità, in quanto ci offre un palcoscenico internazionale su cui presentare il nostro progetto di Shanghai e mostrare a tutti il nostro impegno e la nostra passione nei confronti dei giovani talenti e del mondo dell’arte contemporanea. Il dialogo con gli artisti è ispirazione, fonte d’ossigeno e un fantastico canale per aprire la mente”, spiega Carlo Giordanetti, direttore creativo di Swatch. 

Tramite un ponte virtuale tra Oriente e Occidente, il brand svizzero intende portare “Faces & Traces” presso le Sale d’Armi B dell’Arsenale con la presenza di quattro artisti che hanno vissuto e lavorato presso lo Swatch Art Peace Hotel di Shanghai. Da quando ha aperto le porte nel 2011, Swatch ha ospitato più di 220 artisti nello storico hotel sul Bund di Shanghai, la città più dinamica e metamorfica della Cina. Due piani della struttura sono interamente dedicati ai laboratori e agli alloggi per gli artisti provenienti da ogni angolo del pianeta, accanto ad ampi spazi per l’esposizione delle loro opere, per performance artistiche e per i momenti di vita in comune. 

I Giardini, con i loro storici trenta padiglioni nazionali, sono l’altro luogo imperdibile della Biennale Arte 2017. Anche qui sarà presente Swatch con un suo padiglione, in cui ospiterà le straordinarie opere di un celebre artista contemporaneo e presenterà lo Swatch Art Special 2017. 

Ulteriori dettagli sulla presenza di Swatch alla più prestigiosa esposizione d’arte contemporanea del mondo, affidata quest’anno alla curatrice Christine Macel, verranno forniti nelle prossime settimane e in occasione di una conferenza stampa che si terrà all’Arsenale l’11 maggio 2017. 

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The love story continues: during a press conference held at the Swatch Art Peace Hotel, Swatch confirms the commitment as main partner of Biennale Arte 2017

Swatch has always loved taking art to the people. As the main partner of the 57th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia for the fourth consecutive time, the trendy Swiss watchmaker is again bringing its heart closer to an eager international audience, presenting the Swatch Art Peace Hotel Shanghai and four artists from the renowned artist residency.

Swatch Creative Director Carlo Giordanetti comments, “Being a close partner of Biennale Arte 2017 is an amazing opportunity because it gives us an international platform for the Shanghai project and our passionate commitment to supporting young talent in the arts. Art is an inspiration, a source of oxygen, a wonderful way to open one's mind.”

Bridging East and West, the Swiss brand is taking up its Faces & Traces theme in the Arsenale's Sale d'Armi B, with the presence of four international artists who have lived and worked at the Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai.

Art is the real luxury in life. A natural consequence is to bring art to where luxury is in Shanghai and to combine these components through creativity. Where can this blend of luxury, art and creativity be better expressed than in the Swatch Art Peace Hotel? A historic luxury hotel to host an artist residential community.

Shanghai is one of the world's most exciting places for contemporary art and the artists who create it. Workshops, theaters, galleries and museums light up, transforming the city into an avant-garde experiment in imagining the future.

The Swatch Art Peace Hotel artist residency invites artists from around the world to apply online for a residency in this extraordinary city.

Different forms of art are welcome to the artist residency, to explore the contemporary arts in China's most vibrant city: photography, music, filmmaking, writing, dancing, painting and conceptual art.

The applications are reviewed by an international committee whose efforts ensure that a broad range of artistic disciplines, styles and national origins is represented. The selection process aims to integrate artists in a spirit of openness and curiosity about creativity in its diverse forms and contexts.

At present, the members of the Artist Selection Committee are: Nayla Hayek, Chair of the Board of Directors, Swatch Group; Nick Hayek, CEO, Swatch Group; Esther Grether, art collector; George Clooney, Actor; François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO, Kering; Mikhail Kusnirovich, Russian Entrepreneur and Chairman of the Strategic Development Committee of the Department Store GUM; Sir Francis Yeoh, Chairman of YTL Group.

Known and unknown artists are invited to stay and work for a period of 3 up to 6 months in one of the 18 workshops and apartments. They meet to exchange ideas, prepare and enjoy meals together, talk about their work and life in Shanghai, plan new projects and share their visions.

The artists-in-residence are accommodated in the Hotel at the invitation of Swatch Group, which for its part only asks that they leave a “trace” of their stay.

The Swatch Art Peace Hotel artist residency aims to contribute in a significant manner to the cultural and artistic development of Shanghai. Artists will benefit from their exposure to an international public at the most prestigious location in Shanghai, and it is hoped that the artist residency will serve as an open door to the world, a permanent invitation to engage in cultural exchange.