Art Unlimited spotlighted 62 ambitious works and once again drew a huge audience. Many of the exhibited pieces were created especially for Art 42 Basel. Highlights included major works by legendary artists Carl Andre, John Baldessari, Daniel Buren, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Dan Flavin, Mona Hatoum, Anish Kapoor, Robert Rauschenberg, Thomas Schütte, Rirkrit Tiravanija and Cerith Wyn Evans, joined by pieces from younger and emerging stars such as Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla, Gardar Eide Einarsson, Jacob Kassay, Robert Kusmirowski, Mark Leckey and Sarah Morris. (www.artbasel.com/unlimited).

With its 27 single-artist projects from young galleries and artists from around the globe, this year’s Art Statements had very strong presentations. The two Baloise Art Prizes of CHF 30,000 per artist were awarded to Alejandro Cesarco and Ben Rivers. The Baloise Group will also acquire works by both artists and once again donate them to the Hamburger Kunsthalle and the MUMOK Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation in Vienna (www.artbasel.com/statements).

The second edition of the Art Feature sector was of extraordinary quality and showed a vibrant mix of carefully curated exhibitions (www.artbasel.com/feature). The sector evolved very well, featuring solo shows by artists Giorgio Morandi, Lygia Clark, Alighiero Boetti, Jimmie Durham and Rirkrit Tiravanija among others.

Many art lovers crossed the Rhine to experience Art Parcours, where site-specific artworks and performances by the artists Ai Weiwei, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Anne Chu, Federico Herrero, Chris Johanson, Joan Jonas, Kris Martin, Yinka Shonibare MBE, and Gabriel Sierra transformed a variety of locations throughout the historic St. Alban Tal of Basel, including fishing houses along the river, a large cargo ship, sections of the old city wall, the St. Alban church, an old water reservoir, as well as various public sites throughout the area. This array of high-caliber pieces was curated by San Francisco-based curator Jens Hoffmann, Director of the CCA Wattis Institute, San Francisco. A true Highlight of the week was the Art Parcours Night, which featured Chris Johanson's band 'Sun Foot' and was attended by 1700 people. (www.artbasel.com/parcours).

The Art Basel Conversations series again brought together prominent members of the international art scene, including Allen Ruppersberg, Chris Dercon, Martin Roth, Nancy Spector, Tariq Al Jaidah, Dana Farouki, Abdullah Al Turki, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Luc Deleu, Anri Sala, Stephen Willats, Momoyo Kaijima, Julieta Aranda, Stefan Kalmár, Marta Kuzma and Anton Vidokle. (Videos are available at www.artbasel.com/conversations). Additionally, a daily program of artist conversations, book signings, and discussion forums took place in the Art Salon forum every afternoon, offering a total of 28 presentations (Videos are available at www.artbasel.com/salon).

Once again the Art Film program featured outstanding films, screened at the Stadtkino Basel. Curator Marc Glöde's thematic program presented short films by artists while film connoisseur This Brunner selected "A Cave of Forgotten Dreams" by Werner Herzog. Other highlights were the Swiss premiere of Lawrence Weiner's film 'Dirty Eyes' (2010) and the European premiere of 'Hallucinations/Paradise' by Sam Samore. (www.artbasel.com/film).

On the weekend of June 16 to June 19, 2011, Art 42 Basel celebrated the Art Basel Weekend, highlighting special activities (solo shows, performances, book signings etc.) at the booths of 28 participating galleries. The museums and institutions in Basel also featured special events such as guided tours, performances and talks (www.artbasel.com/weekend).

Shortly before the show, our visitors could download the Art Basel Smartphone app. Using your iPad, iPhone, Blackberry or other smartphone, you can still explore Art 42 Basel's galleries, artists and exhibition sectors. The app's interactive 3D-map allows you to virtually navigate through the halls, access information and images of artworks that our galleries brought to the show, organize them as favourites, and forward them to your friends and colleagues. (www.artbasel.com/apps).

Art Basel Catalogs
Art 42 Basel was accompanied by a lavish catalog published by Hatje Cantz. The richly illustrated publication contains reproductions of approximately 400 works, from Modern classics to the latest in cutting-edge art. Only a few hundred copies are still available from Hatje Cantz Publishers in Germany (to order, visit www.hatjecantz.de). A few copies of the separate catalog for Art Unlimited and Art Public remain for sale via Hatje Cantz as well.

Art Basel’s Sponsors
The international financial institution UBS has been Art Basel’s main sponsor since 1994. At the Associate Sponsor level, Cartier, NetJets and AXA Art continued their significant partnership with Art Basel. Art 42 Basel was also supported by Baloise Group, Arínzano, Bally, Davidoff, Ruinart and Vitra. The VIP car service was provided by BMW.

Museums in Basel