Art world fights coronavirus with digital shows in wake of mainland China and Hong Kong event cancellations

Art institutions across mainland China and Hong Kong are going digital in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that has seen numerous public venues closed, eagerly anticipated events cancelled and significant number of people afraid to leave their homes.

Gallery Hauser & Wirth, for example, was planning a show at Art Basel Hong Kong – arguably the most significant art event in the region – featuring new works by renowned artist Lorna Simpson, which has been indefinitely postponed in the wake of the art fair’s cancellation. Instead it will launch a new digital gallery “space” showcasing the gallery’s history in Hong Kong with works by Zeng Fanzhi, Louise Bourgeois and Philip Guston, among other artists.

“Having discussed the situation, we decided to take positive action and invest our energy in a creative alternative while the gallery is closed for our audiences and our team, many of whom are very isolated in this period,” Iwan Wirth, co-founder of the gallery, says.

“We are absolutely committed to bringing our planned Lorna Simpson exhibition to our Hong Kong gallery … the exhibition was conceived for the Hong Kong gallery and we will bring it to the audiences it was originally intended for, as soon as we are able to.”

Similarly, organisers of Art Basel Hong Kong just announced the launch of online viewing rooms, a new initiative to supplement the fairs in Basel, Miami Beach, and Hong Kong that has been fast-tracked due to the Hong Kong art fair’s cancellation. The digital viewing spaces will allow galleries who were to participate in the fair a cost-free alternative to showcase and sell artworks that were intended to be exhibited.