Shanghai Art021 art fair to launch a Hong Kong edition aimed at galleries from the Global South
- Invitation-only Art021 Hong Kong fair is part of an effort to increase exposure of ‘exceptional art’ from China, the Middle East and other Global South nations
- The organisers have pledged a long-term commitment to the Hong Kong fair, and note that the city has fewer restrictions on art than mainland China
After months of speculation, the Shanghai-based art fair operator Art021 is launching a Hong Kong fair, scheduled for this summer – provisionally July.
Called Art021 Hong Kong, the inaugural edition is planned as an invitation-only event: all the galleries involved have been selected by the organisers.
With dozens of exhibitors, it is smaller than the city’s Art Basel and Art Central events. It hopes to differentiate itself from more established fairs by focusing on galleries from mainland China, the Middle East and the rest of the Global South – including India, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil and Pakistan – as well as the Chinese diaspora, says David Chau, co-founder of Art021 and of the new fair.
“Western artists are well received by collectors in China, but the reception of Chinese artists in the more traditional art markets in America or Europe has not been as enthusiastic,” Chau says.
“This is why we’ve been considering ways to bring greater exposure to exceptional art, from not only China but also, more widely, the Global South, to international collectors. Hong Kong, with its established infrastructure and favourable policies, is the ideal platform to achieve this.”
