Next week, from 21 to 25 February, ARCOmadrid 2018 will open its doors, at IFEMA, Feria de Madrid. Four intensive days of galleries, exhibitions and debates which will spread from this big pavilion to all over the city.

The structure of the event will follow more or less the previous editions, with the section Opening dedicated to the youngest galleries and the section Dialogues, this year curated by María de Corral, Lorena Martinez de Corral and Catalina Lozano. At the same time, the program Professional Meetings will continue the promotion of encounters between well-known directors and curators. This year, Penelope Curtis, João Ribas, Margarida Mendes, Miguel von Hafe, Fátima Marques, Ana Cristina Cachola and Isabella Toledo, will represent Portugal.

The only main difference will be the introduction of a concept instead of the usual invited country. The Future is the common theme and will be featured in the program O futuro não é o que vai acontecer, mas sim o que vamos fazer [The future is not what will happen, but what we’re going to do], curated by Chus Martinez, Rosa Lleó and Elise Lammer.

As what regards to numbers, both Carlos Urroz (director of ARCO) and Vera Cortês (Organization Committee) underline the biggest participation yet of Portuguese galleries or galleries operating in Portugal, in a total of 15 dispersed in all sections and categories.

This year, the Collection Armando Martins will be contemplated with Prémio “A”, a collection that sums a total of 400 works of art by national and international artists and is aiming to open a new contemporary arts museum in Lisbon next year.

Umbigo will be media partner of ARCO, with an individual stand and an installation by the artist Jorge Santos. Those interested in our current project and the history of 15 years of editions may attend the Stand 10 at Pavillion 9, where a cocktail will be held on 21 February, at 5:30pm.