New art fair to be launched in Hong Kong

The founder of ART HK, Tim Etchells, will launch a new art fair in Hong Kong in 2015. Co-directed by Eve Share Banghart (Art Basel, ART HK and Gagosian Gallery) and Maree Di Pasquale  (Melbourne Art Fair, Sydney Contemporary and Abu Dhabi Art Fair), Art Central debuts 14 to 16 March to coincide with Art Basel Hong Kong.

News of the fair comes as no surprise - Etchells has been planning it ever since he sold ART HK to MCH Swiss Exhibition Limited, the parent company of Art Basel. However, rather than rolling out an 'affordable' art fair (as expected), Etchells has opted for a high-end fair that will sit alongside Art Basel Hong Kong. Art Central will be staged in a purpose-built tent on the new Central Harbour Front, less than two kilometers from the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre where Art Basel takes place.

Word on the street is Art Central will offer an attractive alternative to galleries that are unable to get into Art Basel Hong Kong, but it will also appeal to gallerists who liked the the focus and format of ART HK before it was made over by Art Basel.

Sydney launches new art fair in September

Tim Etchells, founder of ART HK (now Art Basel Hong Kong), will launch Sydney Contemporary in September. Unlike the Melbourne Art Fair, which has struggled to realise its international aspirations, Sydney Contemporary opens with a mix of 40% international and 60% Australian-based galleries. The new fair also includes two sections developed in partnership with Artspace and 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art - Contemporary Video curated by  Mark Feary and Installation Contemporary curated by Aaron Seeto. The fair runs at Sydney's historic Carriageworks from 19 - 22 September.
Image: Carriageworks, venue for the inaugural edition of Sydney Contemporary

Sydney's new international art fair on track to launch at Carriageworks in September

An upbeat Tim Etchells hosted a function last week to promote the launch of Sydney Contemporary. Directed by well-known Australian gallerist Barry Kedoulis, the first edition of the fair will take place September in a refurbished train shed at Sydney's historic Carriageworks. Etchells says the fair will feature 65 galleries and that it has already secured the participation of 48 galleries, including 20 from overseas. He is also confident the fair will attract art buyers despite tougher market conditions that saw last year's Melbourne Art Fair report sales of $8 million, down from $11 million in 2010.
Image: Tim Etchells at ART HK

ART HK founder to launch new fair in Sydney

Tim Etchells, the founder of ART HK and most recently A13 London, is launching Sydney Contemporary next April with a view to making it a biennial event. The inaugural edition of the fair will take place at the Horden Pavilion and Royal Hall of Industries at Moore Park on 12 - 14 April 2013.

The establishment of the new fair is likely to ensure that the Melbourne Art Fair's plans to move to an annual event will stay on the backburner. Melbourne's plans to become annual were announced in 2008, in part to stave off the need for a Sydney event in its off year. However they were were shelved in the light of the global economic crisis and concerns that Australia could not sustain a high-end art fair every year.
Image: Sydney's Horden Pavilion and Royal Hall of Industries