An Open Art Fair
Art Fair Tokyo held its press conference for the 2011 fair this week. The theme for the April event is going to be “Open Art”, working with sponsors to interpret art as open to society. The focus is also going to be “Tokyo’s role as a city within Asia” and efforts are being directed at building networks primarily in that region.
A special exhibition will also take place in the PROJECTS section of the fair. “Artistic Practices” is set to “retrace the first decade of the twenty-first century”, featuring two artists recommended by “100 persons well-versed in art”: Taro Shinoda and Tadasu Takamine.
“Improvements” (in the words of the press material) include better VIP hospitality, such as a lounge inside the venue. There will also be more digital content this year and extra satellite events, such as talks and symposiums.
Taking over from Misa Shin, new director Takahiro Kaneshima is overseeing the running of the three-day fair. Exhibitor numbers is again down, though only slightly (from 138 to 134). Perhaps a sign of the times or an indication of the shift towards Asia, there are almost no representatives from Europe or America.
Noticeably absent from the gallery line-up is Mizuma Gallery (who did not exhibit last year either), Wako (likewise not present in 2010), and other major names like Koyanagi. Also some of the galleries who participated for the first time in PROJECTS (which is intended to highlight recently opened galleries) are not returning it seems. The only big addition to the booths that we can see is Misa Shin Gallery but, considering that gallery director’s association with Art Fair Tokyo, naturally it is not surprising.
Art Fairs Go Online?
Mizuma may not be taking part in Art Fair Tokyo but it has not abandoned fairs in general, as witnessed by its participation in the VIP Art Fair this weekend. The “event” is an entirely online fair and made up of international galleries offering private digital viewings of works for sale.
There is a charge for VIP access costs but users can browse for free. The fair is open from 22:00 on January 22 (Japan time) for twenty-four hours only.
Comments