The Collector | Chinese demand saved the art industry post the global financial crisis – who will come to the rescue now?
- With galleries reopening around the world, the art industry has reason to be optimistic
- But uncertainty lingers in Hong Kong as fresh political turmoil erupts
“This is just a happy coincidence,” Wang said. “We picked the dates back in February, when we announced the postponement, and it was much later that the government decided to hold their meetings at the same time.”
We take “happy coincidence” to mean that once the Two Sessions dates had been confirmed, it signalled that any travel restrictions and social distancing rules that had been lifted were unlikely to be reintroduced.
Still, GWBJ was smaller this year because of the coronavirus. Nine out of the 33 galleries that had originally signed up had to withdraw because they are located in Beijing’s still locked down Caochangdi district. It was also a wholly domestic affair.
Last year, half of the VIPs came from outside the mainland but, of course, nobody flew in this time. (If you fly directly to Beijing from Hong Kong, where the virus is under control, there is no quarantine when you arrive but there is when you return to the SAR.) So, the GWBJ team ramped up its new app and online programming with features such as online seminars co-organised with Zurich Art Weekend and London’s Serpentine Galleries.
