ZⓈONAMACO takes place February 5-9 in Mexico City, bringing together over 200 galleries from around the world. This year will be the first time the fair brings together all editions under one roof—ZⓈONAMACO México Arte Contemporáneo, ZⓈONAMACO Diseño, ZⓈONAMACO Foto and ZⓈONAMACO Salón.
Whitewall spoke with the fair’s founder Zélika García about what to expect this week.
WHITEWALL: This year marks the 17th edition of ZⓈONAMACO. To what do you attribute as contributing to the fair’s place as the top international fair in Latin America?
ZÉLIKA GARCÍA: Since 2002 my main objective has been to bring art to the public and promote the specialization of collectors among Mexican and foreign attendants. We have a great attendance of gallery owners, institutions, collectors, artists, sponsors and partners with great contributions that amplify the scope of our main objectives.
Throughout these years, the fair has grown in direct relation with the international scene. The growth of ZⓈONAMACO has been tangible by evolving from a contemporary art fair to a platform of fairs with spaces for other disciplines such as design, photography and antiques originating the ‘ZⓈONAMACO Art Week’ that has made Mexico City the epicenter of international art for many years.
This year and for the first time, ZⓈONAMACO will present in one same location modern and contemporary art, design, photography and antiques, bringing together its four fairs—ZⓈONAMACO México Arte Contemporáneo, ZⓈONAMACO Diseño, ZⓈONAMACO Foto and ZⓈONAMACO Salón—during ZⓈONAMACO Art Week. This is something that has us very excited!
WW: Who are some of the first-time participants that visitors should keep an eye out for?
ZG: Some of the new galleries that will participate in ZⓈONAMACO for the first time this year are: Gray Gallery (Chicago), Xavier Hufkens (Bruselas), carlier|gebauer (Berlín), Rebelde (Guatemala), La Balsa Arte (Bogotá), Nino Mier Gallery (Los Angeles), Miles McEnery (New York), OV Projects (Bruselas) and Poggiali (Florencia). Lisson Gallery (London), Pace Gallery (New York), Galleria Continua (San Gimignano), Kasmin Gallery (New York), Sean Kelly (New York), Galerie LeLong & Co. (New York) and the mexicans kurimanzutto, OMR and PROYECTOSMONCLOVA, return for our 2020 edition.
Also we have some speakers that will participate in our conference program like Kate Fowle (Director of MoMA PS1), Olaf Breuning (Artist), William J. Simmons (Essayist, Poet, and Provost Fellow in the Humanities in the art history PhD program at the University of Southern California) and Zoë Ryan (Curator of the Art Institute of Chicago). And if you are a book fanatic, this year ZsONAMACO Libros will be bigger and will present for the first time the publishers Atelier Éditions, TIS Books, Owl Cave Books, Aqualamb that will be together with others like TASCHEN, Editorial RM, Trilce Ediciones, etc.
WW: Are we seeing representation from any new countries or cities this year?
ZG: Since the beginning, many countries and cities have participated. Over time, we have managed to bring more and more countries and cities together in ZⓈONAMACO. This year we’re going to have more than 210 galleries from 26 countries of America, Europe and Africa.
WW: Can you tell us about the inaugural edition of Collective Project?
ZG: Sure! This curatorial project is called ‘Plaza de la informalidad’ and will be presented instead of SAMPLE. The project is curated by Alma Saladin and Marco Rountree and will take the form of a collective installation for independent spaces. This project, curated will boast the collaboration of Biquini Wax EPS, Cassandra Cassandra, Estudio Hospital, guadalajara90210, LADRÓN galería, Parallel Oaxaca, Rivera, Salón Silicón, Taller Los Guayabos, and The Chimney.
WW: Outside the fair, what are you looking forward to seeing around Mexico City?
ZG: ZⓈONAMACO will have a program with more than 60 parallel activities with exhibitions held in the most relevant museums and galleries in the city. San Miguel Chapultepec, Condesa and Roma neighborhoods are the main spots in the city for that but there are many more.
WW: At the end of what must be an incredibly busy week for you, how do you like to unwind?ZG: Traveling and having a tequila!
