The Armory Show has announced that it will dedicate its next special Armory Focus section to the Nordic region, with the 2012 edition of the fair showcasing about 20 galleries from Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. For the first time in the section's three year history, the New York art fair has enlisted an outside curator, Malmö Konsthall director Jacob Fabricius, to help organize the display.

Created in 2009 to spotlight energetic new art markets around the world and provide a platform for the galleries that drive them, Armory Focus has previously directed attention to Berlin and Latin America. This time around, the choice "grew from our conviction that the vitality of the art community in the Nordic region has not yet been fully recognized," Armory Show director Katelijne De Backer said in a statement. "The extensive and overwhelming network of artists, curators, collectors, museums, and galleries in these countries attests to the Nordic region’s international importance."

The statement additionally notes that the region — home to such artists as Olafur Eliasson, Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Ragnar Kjartansson, and Guido van der Werve — has a "vital presence in New York City." A gallery roster will be announced in coming months.

As a postscript, the fair organizers said, "The Armory Show joins the world community in mourning the tragic deaths of so many Norwegians on July 22, 2011. We extend our deepest condolences to their families and friends, and to the nation."