Holograms to beam overseas gallerists into Art Basel Hong Kong for VIP client meetings
- Some exhibitors at Asia’s biggest annual art fair have found a novel way of meeting clients without braving Hong Kong’s two-week quarantine rule for arrivals
- Sales at the scaled down affair and other events this week will be watched for confirmation the top end of the global art market is holding up amid the pandemic
Art Basel Hong Kong, which opens its doors on Wednesday, will transport some overseas gallerists directly into the Wan Chai Convention and Exhibition Centre, venue for the annual fair, via a groundbreaking, quarantine-dodging method: holography.
The 2021 edition of Asia’s largest art fair features 104 galleries, about half the usual number; 50 per cent of them are operating satellite booths for which overseas exhibitors have sent over artworks but no staff. On Wednesday, when the fair opens to VIPs, some of these will conduct private “hologram viewing sessions” on site, with people such as Emi Eu from the non-profit Singapore Tyler Print Institute (STPI) “beamed in” to present highlights from her booth.
The return of Art Basel, which was cancelled in 2020, is partly down to the Hong Kong government’s eagerness to promote a business-as-usual vibe as the number of new Covid-19 cases in the city dwindles. The art fair will be held at the same time as local fair Art Central and Christie’s Spring auctions at the Convention Centre, with all rent covered by the government’s “Anti-epidemic Fund”.
Hong Kong’s exhibitions industry has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic; visitors from China and overseas have not been able to enter since spring 2020 unless they have a work permit and are willing to put up with strict quarantine requirements.
