Exhibitions, auctions galore as Shanghai gears up for art trade week
The upcoming 5th Shanghai International Art Trade Week – to be held on November 9-13 – will bring together more than 250 domestic and overseas art institutions, providing 100-plus exhibitions as well as 30 art auctions.
The value of the artworks is estimated to exceed 10 billion yuan (US$1.37 billion).
The art trade week is noteworthy for the inclusion of four major local art exhibitions – the West Bund Art & Design Fair, ART021, the Shanghai Young Art Fair, and the First Yit Online Arts and Design Fair.
Together, they will create an international platform for artistic exchange and collaboration.
The West Bund Art & Design Fair
The art trade week will also draw participants from countries involved in the G20 (Group of 20), BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization along with 19 countries in the Belt and Road Initiative.
Renowned galleries such as Gagosian, White Cube, Hauser & Wirth, Zwirner, and Ropac will bring more than 6,000 contemporary art masterpieces, enriching the cultural tapestry of the event.
Moreover, the collaboration with top-tier international auction houses like Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips will ensure a high-profile presence.
During the week, a guideline on the construction and management of an international cultural relics and artworks trading service center in the Pudong New Area will be released, creating a platform for the display, trading and management of domestic and foreign cultural relics and artworks.
Meanwhile, the event is set to bridge the gap between art and consumer products, fashion, and lifestyle.
The collaborations between local art fairs, galleries, art museums and international consumer brands will bring forth a new ecology on art and consumption.
The week will also focus on urban space, digital innovation, social aesthetic education and other dimensions, and strive to promote the "Art Shanghai" brand.
Four art clusters have been created in Shanghai, located, respectively, at the West Bund, the Bund, along the Suzhou Creek and in the city's free trade zone.
They will all bring together the resources of art museums, art institutions and galleries and present art exhibitions and events during the art trade week.
The FTZ, which also has the world's largest art bonded service center, will provide convenient and efficient entry and exit services for overseas art display and transactions.
To embrace the Generation Z youth, the week will transform and develop art resources in a digital manner and host online art events.
It will also launch the "Shanghai Art Guide" project and organize nearly 100 art museums and 15 art venues in the city to hold nearly 200 art exhibitions and 1,000 urban aesthetic education activities.
