COPENHAGEN.- Code Art Fair returns to Copenhagen with a strong selection of the best galleries from Denmark and abroad, as well as a free, ambitious programme of talks, films and performances. Code strives to create a brand new model of the contemporary art fair for an internationally interested art audience - driven by the goal of putting the Danish city firmly on the map as a capital for contemporary art.

An International Elite of Art Galleries
Once again Code Art Fair unfolds in the light, soaring atrium court of Bella Center. In only its second year, there has been strong competition for space at the art fair, giving visitors the opportunity to experience more than 60 quality galleries from cities like London, Berlin, Paris, Mexico City, Istanbul and New York. The new art fair has attracted leading world names, with a list of galleries that includes Perrotin (Paris/New York/Hong Kong/Seoul/Tokyo), König (Berlin), Neu (Berlin) and key Danish galleries like Hans Alf, Benoni and Tom Christoffersen - all offering visitors to the art fair a palette of exceptional art experiences by ground-breaking contemporary artists from the entire globe.

The Art ReActs Event Programme
Art ReActs – the name of this year’s talks, film and performance programme – investigates the ways artist and curators are reacting to social, political, environmental and technological changes in contemporary society. The programme is presented in collaboration with the Obel Family Foundation and the Danish Arts Foundation, whose generous support has made it possible to offer the entire programme to a broad audience entirely free of charge.

Here visitors have the chance to hear leading figures on the international art scene, like Sarah Lookosfky, assistant director of MoMA, Natasha Ginwala, curator of Documenta 14, and Isabella Maidment, curator at Tate Modern debating the ways art can play an active role by using creativity to respond to global challenges. There are also performances by internationally recognised artists like Hassan Khan (EG), Marinella Senatore (IT), and the Danish sound artist Jacob Kirkegaard, as well as a film programme with works by Jesper Just (DK), Karen Cytter (IL) and Kader Attia (FR).

Code on Sunday
This year also marks the launch of a brand new initiative – Code on Sunday – an alternative day at the art fair with an inquiring and generous format. The art fair itself draws to a close on Saturday, making way for a day when Code Art Fair moves into the heart of Copenhagen, hosting a series of events that are open and free for everyone. Code on Sunday unfolds as a series of site-specific performances and events in public spaces in Copenhagen, the full programme of which will be launched at the beginning of August. The initiative emphasises Code’s ambition to contribute to Copenhagen’s position as a cultural capital, at the same time as creating a relaxed platform for networking with opportunities for the local and international art world to meet in a relevant but informal context. Code on Sunday is produced in collaboration with Cph Art Week and other leading Copenhagen art institutions.

The Curatorial Team behind Code 2
Code 2 has been curated by an international team comprised of Caroline Bøge, art advisor and former director of Nils Stærk Gallery, and Saskia Draxler, partner at Nagel Draxler Gallery (founded in 1990 as Galerie Christian Nagel) based in Berlin and Cologne. Irene Campolmi, PhD fellow from Aarhus University and Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, has curated this year’s programme of talks, films and performances.