In line with this, as part of the discussion spaces, the ARCO Bloggers' Forum will be held, with the title “Contemporary art: online tools and strategies”, and the participation of Spain's leading contemporary art bloggers and international opinion creators with an outstanding online presence and activity.

More collectors and art professionals than in other editions Various ARCOmadrid initiatives are intended to encourage the presence at the Fair of the leading Spanish and international collectors and critics, which this year will be larger than ever. These initiatives include the International Collectors' Programme, which will invite 250 active collectors proposed by the participating galleries from all over the world, a higher number than in previous years.

ARCOmadrid has also invited directors and curators of museums in the USA to attend accompanied by two members of their acquisitions board; this means that more than 50 collectors and professionals from American contemporary art institutions will visit the Fair. Other special guests include directors of institutions, biennials and other international events.

All these programmes will make ARCOmadrid a meeting place for outstanding professionals in the international art scene. The Fair, in partnership with Acción Cultural Española AC/E and coordinated by Hablar en Arte, will offer the curators and other guests a special service focusing on encouraging the promotion and publicising of the contemporary Spanish art represented by different galleries at the Fair.

ARCOmadrid will also support people who are making their first forays into acquiring and appreciating contemporary art. The First Collectors programme, coordinated by Elisa Hernando, from the consultants Arte Global, will offer them advice on starting their collections and acquiring works at the Fair.

ARCO Foundation, supporting contemporary art
To incentivise collecting and support galleries and creators, the ARCO Foundation has also designed a number of actions which will take place all year long. Thus, for the next edition of ARCOmadrid, the Foundation will again arrange the ARCO Foundation Platform Luncheon, a meeting of collectors, experts and art lovers for the acquisition of a selection of works which will become part of the Foundation's collection.

Spaces at ARCOmadrid 2013
Lounge areas and meeting spaces will also have a place at the Fair. The most notable space is always the VIP Lounge, which this year will be designed by Q:NO Arquitectos, winners of the 2nd Competition of Ideas for the Design of the ARCOmadrid VIP Lounge, held by the magazine Architectural Digest-AD and the Fair. There was also a special mention for the project presented by CPA Architects+, with a grant from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Also, for the second year in a row and after a resounding success last year, ARCOmadrid will offer ARCOkids, a space for the youngest visitors with workshops in partnership with the Fundación Pequeño Deseo to encourage the creativity of children aged 4 to 14.

Awards and Competitions
ARCOmadrid will again enjoy the sponsorship of the watchmakers Audemars Piguet, which will award a prize of 15,000 euros for the production of a work of art. The prize has gone to the project ‘Arules’ by Juan Luis Moraza, the artist suggested by the gallery Espacio Mínimo. The jury has rewarded the artistic excellence and daring, two qualities valued by the firm in its fine watchmaking creations. The piece produced by Moraza reflects the spirit of the brand and its slogan: “To break the rules, you must first master them”, and it will be exhibited in the Audemars Piguet space in the Fair's VIP Lounge.

Also, like every year, ARCOmadrid will be the setting for the presentation of many different awards recognising artistic creation, collecting and the work of young artists. For example, the “A” Awards for Collecting given by the Friends of ARCO Association, will recognize the Fundación Mapfre in the category of Corporate Collecting; the Elgiz Collection in International Collecting; Bilge & Haro Cumbusyan / Collectorspace, in Collecting Initiative; and the Pictura Collection in the category of Private Collecting. Other awards presented at the Fair will include the ARCO Comunidad de Madrid Prize, the Heineken-CA2M Award, the illy Sustain Art Prize and the ARCOmadrid/BEEP Electronic Art Award, among others.

Also, ARCOmadrid and the BlankPaper School have arranged a photography competition, open only to students of the school to select the three official photographers of the next edition.

Beyond the halls of ARCOmadrid
There will be many exhibitions to see in Madrid this February, which will form part of the parallel programme of ARCOmadrid. Three important private collections will also be on show in the city at the same time: the Cisneros Collection at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía; the Cranford Collection at Fundación Banco Santander, and the Collection of the House of Alba, at CentroCentro. There are also some new exhibition spaces, such as the Fundación Telefónica and the magnificent solo exhibitions of Cristina Iglesias, Heimo Zobernig and Jiri Kovanda.

Alongside these exhibitions, visitors to Madrid encounter a city with an extremely wide range of leisure activities, which will be enriched in the days of the Fair with the AfterARCO programme, making the city an essential social hub in the month of February.