Art Basel
Art Basel is an international contemporary art fair held each June in Basel, Switzerland. Similar to the Venice Biennale, it has been called "the Olympics of the art world".[1] Art Basel features nearly 300 leading galleries from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Special sectors are devoted to recent artworks, curated exhibitions, video- and sound-based works, performances, and art in public spaces.
Co-founded by local gallerists Trudi Bruckner, Balz Hilt, and Ernst Beyeler,and initiated by Lorenzo Rudolf, the first Art Basel was held in 1970 as an alternative to Art Cologne. In 1973, only three years after its founding, Basel superseded Cologne as the largest art show in the world.[2] In 2010, more than 62,500 people attended the exhibition. Since 2002, a sister exhibition, Art Basel Miami Beach has been held in the USA at Miami, Florida.
For both fairs, the selection of galleries is made by a committee – composed of twelve renowned international gallerists – which convenes up to 30 days out of the year. The jurors, who are selected by the directors, typically serve for five to ten years. Dealers must submit proposals to the committee. In the past, Art Basel aimed to include about 25 new galleries each year.[3]
UBS has been sponsoring Art Basel since 1994, as well as its sister fair, Art Basel Miami Beach, from its inception in 2002.
Recent history
In 2007, Annette Schönholzer, Marc Spiegler, and Cay Sophie Rabinowitz took over for the former director of the exhibition, Sam Keller. Rabinowitz became artistic director, Schonholzer became charged with the organization and finances, and Spiegler became responsible for strategy and development.[4] Rabinowitz became the artistic director for both festivals.
In less than a year, at the end of April 2008, the resignation of Rabinowitz was announced. Its leadership has been given to her former co-directors, Annette Schönholzer (formerly director of operations and finance) and Marc Spiegler (formerly director of strategy and development), each with the new title of co-director, Art Basel and Art Basel Miami Beach. [5]
The owners of Art Basel have just signed an agreement with Asian Art Fairs to purchase a majority stake in the Hong Kong fair ART HK. [6]
Art Basel Miami Beach
Art Basel Miami Beach is an annual contemporary art exhibition held in Miami, Florida each December, which is a sister event to Art Basel in Switzerland. The Miami exhibition has been held annually since 2002, as a city-wide event. Along with promoting adjoining fairs and associated events, organizers of Art Basel Miami Beach boast that it has eclipsed the original Art Basel in size and popularity, if not importance, even though they have not surpassed the attendance figures for the original.
Some of the events for the festival are held in art galleries in the Miami neighborhoods of Wynwood and the Miami Design District. Events in Downtown Miami are held in coordination with the Miami Art Museum and downtown area associations at Bicentennial Park and Bayfront Park, as well as at downtown theaters such as the Gusman Theater.
Larger exhibits are held in the Miami neighborhood of South Beach with free, public exhibits held along the beach and in various parks throughout South Beach. More private events are held at the Miami Beach Convention Center with expositions of artists from around the world. The Lincoln Theatre, Colony Theatre, and local bookstores also are hosts to many Art Basel movie showings and expositions. Most art galleries and studios in the area host public events in correlation with exhibition that showcase the work of local Miami artists. Many local galleries and artists also have special events and exhibitions before and after the official festival dates, to take advantage of the increased media coverage and the influx of art patrons to the community. These factors have increased the popularity of the Miami exhibition to the international art community.
The Miami exhibition attracts more than 40,000 attendees a year, a third of whom are visitors to Miami.[7]
See Also
References
- ^ Horan, Tom (June 28, 2004). "The Olympics of the art world". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
- ^ Corinne Buchser (April 12, 2010), Mammoth Art Basel dwarfs world competition swissinfo.ch
- ^ Judith H. Dobrzynski (June 17, 1999), In Olympics Of Art World, Anything For an Edge New York Times.
- ^ Jacquelyn Lewis (June 12, 2007), Art Basel Announces New Leadership Team, ARTINFO, retrieved 2008-05-19
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Cay Sophie Rabinowitz Out as Artistic Director of Art Basel, ARTINFO, April 30, 2008, retrieved 2008-05-19
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Art Basel Expands its Global Reach with Purchase of ART HK ARTINFO.com
- ^ http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/30/1950891/art-basel-draws-a-crowd-and-hotels.html