SIMON REES HAS BEEN APPOINTED AS NEW ART DIRECTOR OF THE FAIR

Cosmoscow 2019 will be enhanced by a new position of Art Director to be held by Simon Rees. In this capacity, he will deal with international galleries extending the Fair’s main programming, and contributing to the educational programme of the Fair.

Museum professional Simon Rees (born 1972, based in Vienna) was a former director of New Zealand’s contemporary art museum, and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. Prior he was head of programming and development at the MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts/Contemporary Art (2011-2013). Mr. Rees is best known for his work at the CAC, Vilnius (2004–2011) and writing and curating in post-communist Europe; including for the prize winning national pavilion he led as commissioner for Lithuania at the Venice Biennale (2007). Mr. Rees has sat on boards and juries of a host of organizations and awards internationally, including those of the contemporary art fairs in Vienna (AT), Auckland (NZ), and Innovation Prize (Moscow). Simon Rees was a regular visitor to Moscow from 2005–2014 for the purpose of writing and research and inter-institutional collaborations, engaging with the city’s most important exhibitions and events (including those associated with the Moscow Biennial).

Simon Rees, Art Director of Cosmoscow Fair, comments: “I am glad to be engaging once again with the contemporary art and culture scene in Moscow, which is one of my favorite cities, at a time when it’s developing in leaps and bounds. And as private commerce, and private-and-public partnerships, linked to the visual arts, is helping Russia re-imagine its culture and its civil society for the future. It’s clear to me that Margarita Pushkina and her team at Cosmoscow Fair are key players in these positive developments to which I am joining my energy.”