Gregorio Luke, reputed Mexican art expert, lectures at World Art Vision 2008: Cancun

Reputed art historian and lecturer, Gregorio Luke, accompanied by the Fridos, disciples of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, will lead a fascinating series of conferences on world famous Mexican artists, at WORLD ART VISION, an exciting ten-day international contemporary art exhibition taking place in Cancun.

WORLD ART VISION is a celebration of contemporary art that offers a glimpse of some of the most cutting edge art on the international scene today. Taking place December 5th to the 14th, 2008 at the Cancun Center Conventions & Exhibitions, Cancun, Mexico, this first edition of the contemporary art exhibition promises to become paramount to the art scene in the Americas.

It is with the same enthusiasm and delight that World Art Vision welcomes Gregorio Luke, lecturer and expert on the life and works of the Mexican masters. Luke will be leading a series of grand conferences featuring mini lessons in Mexican Art History in which he will discuss the life and work of timeless artists like DIEGO RIVERA Monday December 8, FRIDA KAHLO Tuesday 9, JOSE CLEMENTE OROZCO Wednesday 10, DAVID ALFARO SIQUEIROS Thursday 11 and RUFINO TAMAYO Friday 12.

Gregorio Luke, who comes to discuss Mexican art and mark the presence of the Fridos, disciples of Frida Kahlo, is only the first in a series of remarkable guests who are being presented at World Art Vision. He will be participating in events to which all are welcomed and encouraged to join and experience.

Matty Roca, Artistic Director of World Art Vision, said "amongst our exceptional list of guests we have the pleasure of receiving two of the four Fridos; Arturo García Bustos and Arturo Estrada who will be actively participating during various conferences and will be mingling with the WAV public ultimately bringing testimony to a tradition of masters; this is an interesting, and rare opportunity i n the art world, not to miss for those wanting to come into contact with the roots of Mexican modernism in the 20th century and its impact on contemporary art".

World Art Vision is privileged to have Rina Lazo, artist, disciple and colleague of Diego Rivera, and wife and partner of Arturo Garcia Bustos, who will also be in contact with the WAV artists and public, take part in the various events.

WORLD ART VISION is proud to feature this collection of conferences providing an outstanding artistic testimony to what promises to be a central event for international contemporary art in the future.

For further information available to the press, please contact the press office:
Studio Abba - Corso Italia, 6 - 50123 Florence - Italy
tel. /fax +39 055 292082 - info@studioabba.com - http://www.studioabba.com/

For artists interested in participating, please contact the WAV Organisation team at
info@world-art-vision.com http://www.world-art-vision.com/

Neomobile acquires Arena Mobile, A New Global Leader in Mobile Entertainment is Born

Neomobile acquires Arena Mobile
A New Global Leader in Mobile Entertainment is Born

For more information http://www.neomobile.it/media/Neomobile_acquires_Arena_Mobile_EN.pdf

Roma and Barcelona, October 21st, 2008

Neomobile SpA (“Neomobile”), the leading Italian player in the mobile entertainment D2C Sector, and Spain’s Arena Mobile (“Arena”), the global B2B mobile content provider, announce the signing of an agreement that will lead to the birth of a major player in the global Mobile Entertainment Industry – the Neomobile Group.

Operating in the market since 2004, Neomobile has in just a few years achieved a prominent role in the Italian market. The experience gained in Italy, considered to be one of the most advanced and competitive mobile entertainment markets has allowed Neomobile to successfully set-up operations at international level in Turkey, Spain, and this year in Brazil. Neomobile markets directly to consumers (D2C) a wide variety of content and services, having developed an innovative approach to address the widest possible audience, yet guaranteeing a consistently high level of customer experience. In 2007 alone, more than 2,5 mln unique users downloaded Neomobile digital contents.

Arena Mobile, founded in 2001, is one of the pioneers of Mobile Value Added Services. Arena currently works with over 150 operators and media players in 70 countries, specializing in the provision of B2B content and solutions. Headquartered in Spain, Arena boasts local operations in Brazil, Mexico, France, UK, Portugal, Morocco, India, Singapore and Bangladesh, and has a presence also in USA, China and Japan.
Arena recently powered the “Music Box” service of TMN, the leading Mobile Operator in Portugal, awarded as one of most innovative Web&Mobile full-track store at European level.

Neomobile has acquired Arena in order to pursue two main strategic objectives:
1. expand and consolidate its global presence. Arena’s extensive content portfolio, broad international exposure and strong relationship with global operators media players will support Neomobile in consolidating its D2C operations in Spain and Brazil and act as a catalyst for rapid start-up of B2C operations in new markets.
2. extend and diversify its service offering. This deal allows Neomobile to enter the previously untapped B2B segment through Arena’s globally renowned brand. Furthermore Arena will also enable Neomobile’s core business to benefit from a faster time-to-market of cutting edge mobile content and innovative applications

Commenting on the transaction, Gianluca D’Agostino, CEO of Neomobile, said: “This deal represents a key milestone in Neomobile’s global growth strategy allowing us to accelerate our penetration in high potential markets, especially in Latin America and Asia Pacific regions and to bring a new B2B offering in those markets in which we have gained great expertise, such as Italy and Turkey. Arena Mobile has in the past proved to be an invaluable partner to Neomobile, and through this acquisition we look forward to establishing a tighter relationship between our complementary offerings and operations. I am confident that the synergies between the two companies will prove instrumental to further growth, allowing us to garner together the best business opportunities in the global scenario.”

Josep Anton Aliagas, CEO of Arena Mobile, added: “Neomobile is the partner we have been looking for to strengthen our business model and service offerings. We bring to the table a solid reputation and proven success story, having been a pioneer of the Mobile Entertainment Industry since 2000, edging technology and content, and serving global customers. Arena Mobile will be able to leverage Neomobile’s exposure in the global B2C market and contribute to improving its offering to operators. I have no doubt that this important move will benefit all parties involved and drive value generation. Current shareholders including myself will remain with the new Group, and are confident that this operation will add much value and contribute to the Neomobile Group becoming one of the leaders in the global mobile entertainment market in years to come.”

The global Mobile Entertainment Market is expected to register a growth of over 20% this year and to reach €60 billion in global revenues by 2011 (source: Yankee Group 2008). The highest growth rates are expected from “BRIC” (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and other emerging markets, most of which the Neomobile Group is ready to address successfully.
The merger will lead to the establishment of a new global player - an emerging leader with 2008 revenues estimated at around € 40.0 million and a workforce of 200 employees.

About Neomobile
Neomobile SpA is a dynamic mobile entertainment company, specialized in marketing cutting edge m-content formats and in direct-to-consumer distribution, with a potential reach of over 300 million mobile phone users.
Main shareholders are Teleunit SpA, the Italian telecommunications service provider listed on the AIM of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: “TLU”), and MPS Venture SGR SpA, the private equity unit of Montepaschi banking group.
The Company began operations as the Mobile Content Services division of Teleunit SpA and was separately incorporated as Neomobile SpA in February 2007. Since its inception, Neomobile has shown consistent growth in revenues, profitability, and market share, becoming a leader in the home market and the emerging player in Turkey (since 2006) and more recently in Spain. The Company, headquartered in Rome, has offices in Istanbul, Madrid and Saõ Paulo, where it markets its services under its proprietary brands, the most well known is “Dindo”. Neomobile is an active member of the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF).
For more information on Neomobile, please visit: http://www.neomobile.it/

About Arena Mobile
Headquartered in Reus (Barcelona), Arena Mobile is a global mobile content player focused on B2B services and solutions, and content distribution. Founded in 2001 by the Aliagas brothers, Arena is a pioneer of Mobile Value Added Services, and in 2003 was the first Company to provide i-mode and WAP services to Telefonica in Spain.
The Company has since become a global player, working with over 120 network operators and 30 media players in 70 countries, and is one of the first European Companies to deploy innovative Mobile VAS projects in the Asian Market.
Arena Mobile is a member of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA).

MARINA ABRAMOVIC to be awarded at the Florence Biennale

Performance artist Marina Abramovic to be awarded at the 7th Edition of the Florence Biennale. 5 – 13 December 2009, Fortezza da Basso

The seventh edition of the Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art will take place at the historic Fortezza da Basso in Florence from 5-13 December, 2009. Marina Abramovic, the acclaimed performance artist, will be the honoured guest at this edition and she will be awarded the Lorenzo il Magnifico prize.

800 artists coming from 80 countries will be exhibiting more than 2,500 artworks and there will be an extraordinary meeting of cultures, languages and diverse artistic styles. The Florence Biennale supports the United Nations program "Dialogue between civilizations", to which the Biennale has officially adhered since 2001.

As always, the Biennale will see the presence of important artists: In the 2007 edition, the "Lorenzo il Magnifico" career prize was conferred to Gilbert & George, for the 2005 edition to Christo and Jeanne-Claude and to Richard Anuszkiewicz and in 2003 to David Hockney. In the 2009 edition, Marina Abramovic will meet both the artists participating at the Biennale and visitors to the Biennale, in part of the rich calendar of conferences, meetings and video projections.

Marina Abramovic, born in 1946 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is without question one of the seminal artists of our time. Since the beginning of her career in Yugoslavia during the early 1970s, where she attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Belgrade, Abramovic has pioneered the use of performance as a visual art form. The body has always been both her subject and medium. Exploring the physical and mental limits of her being, she has withstood pain, exhaustion, and danger in the quest for emotional and spiritual transformation. She creates works that ritualize the simple actions of everyday life such as lying, sitting, dreaming and thinking. As a vital member of the generation of pioneering performance artists that includes Bruce Nauman, Vito Acconci, and Chris Burden, Abramovic created some of the most historic early performance pieces and is the only one still making important durational works.

From 1975 until 1988, Abramovic and the German artist Ulay performed together, dealing with relations of duality. After separating in 1988, Abramovic returned to solo performances in 1989. Abramovic has presented her work with performances, sound, photography, video, sculpture, and 'Transitory Objects for Human and Non Human Use' in solo and group exhibitions at major institutions in the U.S. and Europe. She has also taught and lectured extensively in Europe and America.

She was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Artist at the 1997 Venice Biennale for her extraordinary video installation/performance piece Balkan Baroque‚ and in 2003 received the Bessie for The House with the Ocean View‚ a 12-day performance at Sean Kelly Gallery, New York. In 2005, Abramovic presented Balkan Erotic Epic at the Pirelli Foundation in Milan, Italy and at Sean Kelly Gallery, New York. That same year, she held a series of performances called Seven Easy Pieces at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. She is currently showing in a group exhibition "worlds on video" at t he Strozzina in Florence, Italy.

Abramovic's work is included in many major public collections worldwide.

For further information: http://www.florencebiennale.org

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