LONDON.- The Directors of Frieze Art Fair, Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, have announced today the details of the 2009 fair. Frieze Art Fair is the UK’s most important art event and one of the world’s most influential contemporary art fairs. Sponsored by Deutsche Bank for the sixth consecutive year, Frieze Art Fair 2009 is a tightly selected presentation of the most forward-thinking galleries from around the globe. The selected galleries will present outstanding work by over 1,000 of the world’s most innovative artists and these works will be presented alongside Frieze Art Fair’s unique curatorial programme of artists’ projects. Frieze Art Fair helps set the international contemporary art agenda.

A fresh and exciting addition for 2009 will be the first presentation of Frame, a new section within the fair dedicated to solo artist presentations. Frame will show young galleries from around the world that have been in existence for less than six years. The galleries selection has been advised by curators Daniel Baumann and Sarah McCrory.

2009 will see a total of 162 galleries exhibiting at Frieze Art Fair, including leading galleries from across America and Europe. The strength of galleries from emerging territories such as Asia and Eastern Europe continues this year - galleries new to the fair include Kukje Gallery from Seoul (South Korea), Galerie Plan B from Cluj (Romania) and The Third Line from Dubai (UAE). Also new in 2009 are Lisboa 20 Arte Contemporânea from Lisbon (Portugal), Office Baroque from Antwerp (Belgium), Kamm from Berlin (Germany) and hiromiyoshii from Tokyo (Japan).

Every autumn Frieze Art Fair reinvigorates the artistic and cultural scene in the UK, bringing an annual focus, which is widely known as Frieze Week, to contemporary art in London. British galleries exhibiting for the first time this year include Hollybush Gardens, Limoncello and Ancient & Modern (all from London), and Ingleby from Edinburgh.

Co-directors Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover commented, “Against a tough economic backdrop, we are delighted that so many new and established galleries continue to want to show their best work at Frieze Art Fair. Applications to the new Frame section were so strong we were able to almost double the anticipated size of the section which means that collectors, curators and general visitors alike will be able to enjoy not only a wealth of solo presentations from the UK and US but also less well-known territories ranging from Australia to Lithuania. The art world is increasingly global and we are proud to have that represented at the 2009 fair. We would like to thank our Main sponsor Deutsche Bank, Associate sponsor Cartier, and the Guardian, our Media sponsor, for their continued support of the Frieze Art Fair and for their contribution to the promotion and development of contemporary art.”

Details of the annual curatorial programme Frieze Projects, Frieze Talks, Frieze Film and Frieze Education will be announced during the coming months. The recipient of The Cartier Award will be announced in May 2009.

In previous years Frieze Projects, which is sponsored by Cartier, have presented new commissions for the fair by artists including Richard Prince, Agnieszka Kurant, Kris Martin and Andrea Zittel. Frieze Talks have included presentations by Boris Groys, Yoko Ono, Dave Hickey and Roni Horn. Frieze Projects is curated by Neville Wakefield under the auspices of Frieze Foundation.

Frieze Education, which takes place in the Deutsche Bank Education Space, has grown to be of great importance to the young adults and children visiting the fair, serving to familiarise them with the best in contemporary art, design and culture. Building on last year’s successful partnership with the Royal College of Art, Frieze Education will run a scheduled programme of events for schools local to the fair and drop-in events for families.

Pierre de Weck, Member of the Group Executive Committee and Global Head of Private Wealth Management Deutsche Bank added: “We are pleased to show our commitment to the development of contemporary art through our continued sponsorship of Frieze Art Fair. Seven years ago, the organizers of Frieze spotted the need for a fair that fostered the new international spirit in art. Frieze has played its part in making it easier for artists from every part of the globe to claim an international reputation. Not only does Frieze provide one of the most exciting marketplaces, but it believes in art education, something that we are strongly committed to at the fair through the Deutsche Bank Education Space.”

The Outset/Frieze Art Fair Fund to Benefit the Tate Collection continues in 2009, the seventh consecutive year of the collaboration. This unique partnership enables Tate to buy important works of art for the nation at Frieze Art Fair. The fund to date has raised over £775,000 and, as a result, 72 works by 45 significant international artists have been added to Tate’s collection since 2003. The selection panel for 2009 will consist of Sir Nicholas Serota, Director, Tate; Tate Curators Frances Morris, Jessica Morgan and Ann Gallagher; Hou Hanru, Curator, San Francisco Art Institute and Joanna Mytkowska, Curator, Warsaw Museum of Modern Art.

Tickets for Frieze Art Fair 2009 go on sale on Monday 1 June 2009 at www.seetickets.com +44 (0)871 230 7159. The Frieze Art Fair Yearbook 2009-10 will be available in September, as will the second edition of Frieze Projects and Frieze Talks, covering the years 2006 – 2008. Serving as an introduction and critical contribution to the most current debates in contemporary art, Frieze Projects and Frieze Talks will serve as an invaluable reference tool.