New dates for Art Basel Hong Kong, 2015 sure to cause some galleries to choose their March art fair platform.
This just in. The art fair organizers just announced that starting next year the newly hatched Hong Kong outlet of the global Art Basel brand is switching its run dates from mid June to mid March. The fair will now run almost concurrently to The Armory Show and the ADAA: The Art Show in New York City and since the two fairs share a substantial portion of top exhibitors this will surely cause headache to more than one gallerist. If the Armory Art week in New York generally runs the second weekend in March, ending some time around the 8th or 9th, and the Hong Kong fair launching on March 13th, this means that the New York – Hong Kong flights will suddenly become much more in demand with collectors, advisors, gallery staff, critics, media jetting off to make the next event.
This may also be a deciding factor for many galleries when choosing which platform to participate in this very busy March art season. Besides the physical time required to get from one side of the globe to another there is also the massive logistical issues involved in attending both fairs so close together. Art has to be selected, curated, installation designed. Paintings, sculptures, installations have to be transported to the fair, cleared customs, delivered to the art fair itself, installed and the gallery staff in place to face the collectors.
So international art galleries that participate in any of the New York March art fairs are going to have to either scramble and make both appearances, or pick and chose which one they want to be a part of. Doesn’t make much economic sense unless the organizers of the Art Basel Hong Kong fair are keen on keeping a very regional focus allowing Asian galleries first access to collectors.
New dates are as follows:
Preview (by invitation): Friday evening, March 13, and all day Saturday, March 14, 2015
Public Show Dates: Sunday, March 15 to Tuesday, March 17, 2015
“The second edition of Art Basel in Hong Kong, Lead Partner UBS, will take place from May 15 to 18, 2014 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. The show will present 245 of the leading galleries from Asia, Europe, the Americas and the rest of the world and more than 3,000 artists, ranging from young emerging artists to the Modern masters from both Asia and the West. 50 percent of galleries presented at the show have exhibition spaces in Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, showcasing a strong combination of high-quality works from the East and the West and underscoring Art Basel’s commitment to the region. The main sector, Galleries, presents premier established galleries from across the world, while Insights is dedicated to presenting precise contextual and thematic presentations by artists from across the art scenes in Asia and the Asia-Pacific. The Discoveries sector provides a platform for younger galleries and Encounters shows large-scale sculptural installations by leading artists from around the world. The show will include for the first time a Film sector, curated by Li Zhenhua, and hosted in collaboration with the Hong Kong Arts Centre. The show will be accompanied by strong public programming, including Art Basel’s popular talks programs, Conversations and Salon. Additionally, collaborations with local and international partners will ensure a diverse range of arts programming, with hundreds of cultural events hosted across the city throughout the week. ” – Art Basel Hong Kong.
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