Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

, Switzerland; Miami Beach;

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and from 2022,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Art Basel works in collaboration with the host city's local institutions to help grow and develop art programs. While Art Basel provides a platform for galleries to show and sell their work to buyers, it has gained a large international audience of art spectators and students as well.

History

Basel, Switzerland

Art Basel was started in 1970 by Basel gallerists

Ernst Beyeler Ernst Beyeler (16 July 1921 – 25 February 2010) was a Swiss art dealer and collector, who became "Europe’s pre-eminent dealer in modern art", according to ''The New York Times'', and "the greatest art dealer since the war", according to ''Th ...

, Trudl Bruckner and Balz Hilt. In its inaugural year, the Basel show attracted more than 16,000 visitors who viewed work presented by 90 galleries from ten countries. Thirty art publishers also participated. By 1975, five years after its founding, the Basel show reached almost 300 exhibitors. The participating galleries came from 21 countries, attracting 37,000 visitors. Under the stewardship of Marc Spiegler, the 2019 show in Basel attracted 93,000 visitors over six days. It presented 290 galleries from 35 countries, exhibiting the work of over 4,000 artists. A total of 19 galleries showed in Basel for the first time. Alongside private collectors from Europe, America, and Asia, representatives and groups from over 400 museums and institutions were in attendance. In 2020, the 50th edition of the fair in Basel was at first postponed to September, but later canceled after many dealers cited concerns about travel and safety in the midst of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In July 2021, Art Basel announced its in person return for 24–26 September. There were 273 exhibitors, among them over 20 participated for the first time.

Miami Beach, Florida

Art Basel Miami Beach was first introduced in 2002 under the direction of Sam Keller. Spearheaded by Noah Horowitz, Art Basel's Director Americas, the 2019 show in Miami Beach, Florida, presented 269 galleries from 29 countries. Over five days, the show attracted 81,000 visitors, and 20 galleries showed in Miami Beach for the first time. The 2020 edition, due to take place in December, was cancelled because of the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

. Art Basel Miami Beach returned December 2–5, 2021, and was held December 1-3, 2022.

Hong Kong

In 2008,

MCH Group MCH Group AG is an international live marketing company headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. It takes in several exhibition companies in Switzerland and organizes and hosts about 90 exhibitions, including the Art Basel shows in Basel, Miami Be ...

, Angus Montgomery Arts and the events organiser Tim Etchells launched Art HK, sparking investor interest in Hong Kong. MCH bought it out in 2013 to create Art Basel Hong Kong, held at

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) is one of the two major convention and exhibition venues in Hong Kong, along with AsiaWorld–Expo. It is located in Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Island. Built along the Victoria Harbou ...

. The 2019 Hong Kong Exhibition, directed by Adeline Ooi, attracted a record attendance of 88,000 visitors, among them directors, curators, trustees, and patrons from over 130 leading international museums and institutions. On display were 242 galleries from 35 countries and territories. The 2020 edition of the fair was cancelled due to the spread of coronavirus. The 2021 Hong Kong exhibition ran from 19 to 23 May at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre with 104 galleries from around the world.

Initiatives

Art Basel's initiatives concentrate on the broader art world. Art Basel has three main initiatives: Art Basel Cities, BMW Art Journey, Crowdfunding and The Art Market. Art Basel Cities is a project between Art Basel and cities worldwide to create cultural events and programming throughout the year. Art Basel, the city's local art stakeholders and the city's officials will sit together and develop a program in line with the city's mid- and long-term cultural development goals. This initiative was launched during the 2016 Hong Kong edition of Art Basel. Cities interested in the collaboration have to apply via an online questionnaire. The first partner city is

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. BMW Art Journey Award is a grant that supports emerging creatives and enables them to go on an artistic journey of their own definition. In 2015, it was established by BMW and Art Basel to reward promising artists from the Discoveries sector in Hong Kong and the Positions sector in Miami Beach. The chosen artist can select the destination and go almost anywhere in the world to explore new ideas, discover new themes, and create new works. A winner is selected twice a year from a shortlist of three finalists during the Art Basel shows in Hong Kong and Miami Beach. The Crowdfunding Initiative is a partnership between Kickstarter and Art Basel to provide visibility and generate support for projects from

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

s around the world. The projects include artist residencies, education programs, public installations and other innovative artistic projects. They are selected by an independent jury made up of three non-profit art world specialists. The Art Market is an annual global art market analysis. It covers all aspects of the international market and highlights the most important developments in the previous year. The first report was published in 2017. Also, the executive-education program Collecting Contemporary Art in Hong Kong was launched by Art Basel, HKU SPACE Centre for Degree Programmes (CDP) and

Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of shor ...

College of Arts and Design (CSM).

Pricing structure

A committee of four dealers reviewed art dealers' plans and select the winners in a four-day session several months ahead of each fair. As of 2019, the smallest galleries pay CHF 760 per square metre for a booth at Art Basel, and the largest galleries will pay CHF 905 per square metre. Prices rise relative to each additional square metre.

Leadership

* 1991–1999:

Lorenzo Rudolf Lorenzo Rudolf (born 1959 in Bern, Switzerland) is a Swiss art impresario, curator, art fair organiser, advisor and key note speaker. Biography Born in Bern, Switzerland on 20 May 1959, Rudolf studied law at the University of Bern, before joining ...

* 2000–2007: Sam Keller * 2007–2008: Cay Sophie Rabinowitz, Annette Schönholzer, Marc Spiegler * 2008–2012: Annette Schönholzer, Marc Spiegler * since 2012: Marc Spiegler

Sponsor

UBS is the lead partner of the Art Basel in Basel since 1994, the lead partner of the Art Basel in Miami Beach since its inception in 2002 and the lead partner of the Art Basel in Hong Kong since its inception in 2013.

References

External links

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Peeling the $120,000 Art Basel Banana
{{Portal bar, Switzerland} Art fairs Tourist attractions in Basel Culture in Basel Tourist attractions in Hong Kong Tourist attractions in Miami