Francesca von Habsburg will be in conversation with Aaron Cezar from the Delfina Foundation speaking about how she has built a collection of more than 700 works across media, of which more than 100 are commissions by artists such as Kutlug Ataman, Janet Cardiff, Olafur Eliasson, Carsten Höller, Inhabitants, Amar Kanwar, Ernesto Neto, Jana Winderen, Claudia Comte, Armin Linke, Joan Jonas and John Akomfrah. Reflecting her belief that art has the power to provoke action and catalyze change, works in her collection engage with social justice, immigration, feminist perspectives, the environment and other pressing issues of our times. Francesca has deepened and extended her family’s history of art patronage (her father, Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, founded the Thyssen Museum in Madrid) and has been redefining the role of the collector from that of purchaser into collaborative researcher, producer, and advocate.
Aaron Cezar is the founding Director of Delfina Foundation, where he develops, curates and oversees its interrelated programme of residencies, exhibitions and public platforms. He conceived Delfina Foundation’s Collecting as Practice programme, the first ever residency for collectors, alongside artists, to explore the politics, philosophy and psychology of collecting. Thus far, 11 collectors have participated in the programme including Alain Servais, Lu Xun, Luba Michailova and Sheikh Sultan Sooud al-Qassemi.
Breakfast will be served from 9.30am in Deutsche Bank Wealth Management Lounge at Frieze London.
The talk starts at 10am promptly and with Q&A in the end.
After the talk, guests will enjoy direct access into the fair from the Lounge, with quieter viewing during the VIP Hour between 11am-12pm.