LONDON, ENGLAND.- The directors of Frieze Art Fair announced today the appointment of Neville Wakefield as Curator of Frieze Projects at Frieze Art Fair. Neville Wakefield is an independent curator, critic and editor based in New York. He most recently curated Defamation of Character, an international group exhibition on show until January 2007 at MOMA/PS1 in New York. Earlier this year he co-founded and co-produced Destricted, a series of films about the representation of sexuality in art.

The seven films were created by some of the world's most acclaimed artists and directors, including Marina Abramovic, Matthew Barney, Larry Clark, Richard Prince and Sam Taylor-Wood. The Destricted films were in the official selection of the Sundance Film Festival and the Critics' Week of the Cannes Film Festival. Wakefield has been published, and lectured, widely in the US and Europe.

Neville Wakefield commented today, "Regardless of whether it's producing films, writing or curating, I've always been drawn to the intersection of art and commerce, the creative friction between rarefied interest and mass appeal. Joining the Frieze team at the point at which the fair enters its fifth year is especially exciting in this respect. Now the bellwether its commercial success provides is a perfect backdrop for Frieze Projects to explore and challenge this position."

Fair directors Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover added, "We're delighted to have attracted a curator of Neville's calibre, and are looking forward to working with him. He has an incredible scope of knowledge, ranging from art theory to pop culture, and we hope to see this range of interests reflected in next year's Frieze Projects."

Neville Wakefield replaces Polly Staple who had been with the fair since its inception in 2003 as Curator, Chief Curator and, for the past year, Director, Frieze Projects. Under Polly Staple's direction, the curatorial programme has grown to encompass Frieze Commissions, Frieze Talks, Frieze Education, The Artists Cinema and The Cartier Award. This year Frieze published Frieze Projects: Artists' Commissions and Talks 2003-2005, a fully illustrated record of the projects and talks realised at the fair over the past three years.

Polly Staple stood down after the 2006 fair in order to pursue independent curatorial and writing projects. She will continue to have a close relationship to the organisation in her role as Editor at Large, and regular columnist of frieze, the leading contemporary art magazine, published by the organisers of Frieze Art Fair.

Wakefield joins the existing curatorial team of Frieze Projects, Kitty Anderson, Associate Curator and Andrew Bonacina, Curatorial Assistant. He will divide his time between New York and London and takes up the post next month.

Frieze Projects are commissioned under the auspices of Frieze Foundation and presented in association with Cartier. Frieze Foundation is generously supported by Arts Council England and the Culture 2000 programme of the European Union (2005-07).

La comunidad (the community), Miami, is curating an art exhibit Dec. 4 - 10 in celebration of Art Basel Miami Beach (Dec. 7-10), the American sister event to the internationally renowned art show and exhibition Art Basel in Switzerland. La Comunidad will host three installation artists displaying never-before-seen works in the raw, 20,000 square-foot warehouse space that is the future home of the agency.

The internationally renowned exhibiting artists and their works are: Federico Uribe ("Human Nature"), Carlos Betancourt ("The Cut Out Army"), and Ivo Vergara ("Cerebral Architecture"). The exhibits are open to the public 10:00 am - 8:00 pm, and are free of charge. For more information, please go to: http://www.lacomu.com/artbasel/press.php

Located in Miami's up-and-coming Wynwood Art District, la comunidad will break ground on its new office space in early 2007. La comunidad is looking forward to taking an active role in developing Wynwood, and to being a part of the artworld, which serves as an inspiration to the creative community at the agency.

Art Basel Miami Beach (http://www.artbasel.com) will take place from December 7 - 10, 2006.

The international art show in Miami Beach (Florida) is the American sister event of Art Basel in Switzerland, the most important annual art show worldwide for the past 35 years. Art Basel Miami Beach is a new type of cultural event, combining a contemporary art show with an exciting program of special exhibitions, parties and crossover events including music, film, architecture and design. Exhibition sites are located in the city's beautiful Art Deco District, within walking distance of the beach and most hotels and restaurants.