MILAN, ITALY.- MiArt, Milan's Modern and Contemporary Art Fair, opens to the public from the 5th to the 8th of May 2005. Now in its tenth year, MiArt is introducing several major changes: new décor for the display stands, a new exhibitor selection committee, the chance for 100 collectors to get a preview of the fair, and a packed programme of parallel events and artistic initiatives both inside and outside the display space.

As visitors pass through the Porta Metropolitana entrance, they will see a series of large contemporary sculptures by international artists, positioned along the pathway to the fair's new venue in Pavilion 11. The entrance gate, designed by artist Mimmo Rotella, opens on to a vast 24 thousand square meter space that is one of the finest examples of Italian industrial archaeology, featuring ceiling spans up to sixteen meters high supported by iron pylons. The imposing space, built in 1926 and formerly known as the Mechanics Pavilion, ensures top quality exposure and visibility to all galleries thanks to the layout of the stands at right angles. For the first time, stands this year will have four meter tall wall panels.

224 galleries are on hand this year, from Italy, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Greece, Spain, USA, Sweden, Switzerland and, for the first time ever, Romania, with the Anaid Art gallery and Slovakia with the Komart gallery.

The exhibitors, whose stand designs were vetted by a new Advisory Committee comprised of Claudia Gian Ferrari, Claudio Guenzani, Matteo Lorenzelli, Massimo Mininni, Marco Niccoli and Carla Pellegrini Rocca, occupy a display area measuring some 10 thousand square meters - a significant increase over last year.

MiArt is Italy's most comprehensive art exhibition-cum-market; the exhibitors are divided into three separate sectors, from the historic avant gard movements to the most innovative offerings on the current artistic scene: the Modern sector is for galleries presenting works and artists from the early Twentieth century to the 1960s; the Contemporary sector is devoted to exhibitors showing art works from the last few decades; the Anteprima sector includes galleries that specialize in emerging artists under the age of 35.

Art & Co, a new sector that opened last year, makes MiArt the only fair in the world with a special area set aside for exhibitors from either the modern or contemporary art scene who focus their attention on one-off or limited edition art or design pieces by the grand masters: from Giò Ponti to Corrado Levi, from Giacomo Balla to Ettore Sottsass, Alessandro Mendini and Nanda Vigo.