The Works：Art Basel & Art Central

For art lovers, artists, and art dealers, March can be the most hectic time of the year as one of the world’s largest art fairs, Art Basel, comes to town. Art Basel’s success here, as well as the fact that Hong Kong is now apparently the world’s third largest art market, has turned what was once an art week into something approaching an art month. Apart from the big fairs – there’s also Art Central – local galleries and other art organisations pull out all the stops to attract attention while visitors are in town. There was a lot to take in, and if you didn’t have the stamina to get to it all, over the coming weeks The Works will be bringing you some of the interviews, events and exhibitions that we managed to cover. We’re beginning today with the two most prominent art fairs, Art Basel and Art Central. This year, we invited art writer Diana d’Arenberg to take us on a tour of Art Basel Hong Kong.
Within easy walking distance of the Cultural and Exhibition Centre and Art Basel, Art Central was once again ensconced on the Central Harbourfront. This year’s fair attracted more than 100 contemporary art galleries, most of which focused on promoting emerging Asia-based artists. Like Art Basel, Art Central has an educational component that includes talks, interactive installations, panel discussions and films. This year, the organisers also placed particular emphasis on performance art.