Art Basel Hong Kong shaping up to be biggest in years, with 242 exhibitors signed up
- Organisers behind art fair say 40 countries and territories will be represented at event at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from March 28 to 30
- ‘Our goal is to connect guests from all around the world in our home, Hong Kong, by offering possibilities of collaboration and innovation’, event director says
Hong Kong’s Art Basel is shaping up to be the biggest in years, organisers have revealed just weeks after a report showed wealthy collectors are eager to buy despite the climate of economic uncertainty.
The number of exhibitors who had signed up for Art Basel Hong Kong had reached 242, a number last seen in 2019, with 40 countries and territories taking part, event director Angelle Siyang-Le on Tuesday said.
The number of exhibitors for the coming event represents a 37 per cent increase from this year’s 177.
“Our goal is to connect guests from all around the world in our home, Hong Kong, by offering possibilities of collaboration and innovation inspired by art and artists,” she said.
“As the key strategic cultural hub in Asia and the Asia-Pacific, the city plays an important role, more than ever, in bridging the evolving art landscape across regions.”
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The event will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from March 28 to 30, with previews available two days before the event opens.
In 2019, the fair welcomed 242 exhibitors, with the figure dropping to 104 and 130 for 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Organisers cancelled the event in 2020, as the city battled the pandemic.
Among the exhibitors joining next year’s event, 25 are international galleries making their debut in Hong Kong and another 68 are returning after a brief hiatus.
Galleries making a comeback include Galerie Lelong & Co from France, Kurimanzutto from Mexico, Experimenter from India and Italy’s Galleria d’Arte Maggiore G.A.M.
Newly represented countries at the fair include Saudi Arabia, Denmark, Ghana, New Zealand and Portugal.
Earlier this month, Art Basel and its lead partner UBS found the event had helped to fuel a 59 per cent jump in Hong Kong art exports during the first quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2022.
A joint report from the Swiss-based investment bank and global fair also showed sales at art auctions around the world in the first half of the year declined 16 per cent compared with the same period in 2022.
But they said wealthy collectors intended to buy more art next year as they were more optimistic about the collection market than stocks.
The government earlier expressed hope that mega events, such as the art fair, could boost tourism and the wider economy.
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Authorities earlier downgraded this year’s growth estimate from 4 to 5 per cent to a more sluggish 3.2 per cent. Last year, the economy shrank 3.5 per cent year on year.
Fresh from the recent Apec forum, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po over the weekend said that world leaders were concerned about the prospects for a global economic recovery.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which brings together 21-member economies, held its first post-pandemic meeting last week in San Francisco.
Hong Kong’s finance chief said state leaders at the event believed it would take two to three years before the world economy returned to pre-pandemic levels, with the current high-interest-rate regime expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
