Hong Kong, March 21 (BNA): The organizers of Art Basel Hong Kong, one of the leading art fairs in Asia, said today, Tuesday, that they are optimistic about the prospects for the art market in the region, as China and Hong Kong have now lifted all the COVID-19. Lockdown restrictions.
The annual fair, which also has repeats in Basel, Paris and Miami Beach, runs from March 23-25 in Hong Kong.
The number of exhibitions rose to 177 this year from 130 in 2022, with 32 countries and regions participating across Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa, Reuters reported.
“Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the Asian art market has also remained resilient, with Greater China accounting for 20% of global sales by value and ranking as the second largest regional art market in the latest edition of Art Basel,” Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz said. Basel Reporters Inc.
Hong Kong attracted 56 million visitors in pre-pandemic 2019, but shops are now vacant, and Chinese visitors, who once pushed the city’s art market, are not yet returning in droves.
Leading international exhibitions at Art Basel this year include Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Lehmann Maupin, Victoria Miro, Pace, Perrotin, White Cube and David Zwirner.
In a mall near the attractive halls of Hong Kong’s Harbourfront Convention Center where Art Basel is, the gallery has installed a 10-meter inflatable statue of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun titled “Gravity” by Los Angeles-based artist Owl Erezco.
The art fair has been welcomed by the Hong Kong government as it strives to revitalize Hong Kong’s economy after a nearly three-year slump due to factors including harsh coronavirus lockdowns and closed borders with China.
WWA