Art Basel Is Postponing Its Marquee Swiss Fair From June to September, Adding to a Year-End Crush in the Art Market Calendar

Art Basel, the world’s most important annual contemporary art
fair, will push back its Swiss edition to September due to the
“unprecedented impact worldwide” of the COVID-19 pandemic,
according to a statement.

Originally scheduled to open to VIP cardholders on June 16, it
will now open its first preview day September 15, and run through
September 20.

In a statement, the fair’s head, Marc Spiegler, thanked
exhibitors for their “support and understanding of our highly
complex decision to postpone the fair.”

“We hope that the situation improves swiftly, and we will work
closely with our exhibitors to deliver a successful fair in
September,” Spiegler said. “At the same time, we are aware of how
dynamic the COVID-19 situation is and will continue to monitor the
developments closely. The health and safety of our exhibitors,
partners, guests, and teams remains our main priority, and we will
adapt all our planning to the developing situation.”

The postponement has been widely expected for weeks, and comes
after similar expos scheduled for June, such as the marketing
conference Cannes Lions, were also pushed back. That event will now
take place in October.

The new dates for Art Basel also set the stage for a remarkably
jam-packed fall travel schedule for the art world. Though fairs
such as Art Basel Hong Kong and Frieze New York were outright
cancelled, the postponement of Berlin Gallery Weekend, the Dallas
Art Fair, and now Art Basel will set the stage for an unprecedented
run of events in September and October that already were set to
include must-attend affairs such as the São Paulo Biennial, Expo
Chicago, Frieze London, and FIAC, the largest contemporary fair in
France.

Other fairs originally scheduled for spring, meanwhile, have
opted to cancel their 2020 editions entirely. After Frieze New York
announced that it would call off this year’s event, Masterpiece
London—the art and design fair with wares spanning all eras—would
also cancel. The fair, which shares a majority shareholder with Art
Basel’s parent company MCH, was originally scheduled to take place
from June 24 to July 1.

To fill the void during a fair-less summer, Art Basel
representatives said that they will focus on developing the
company’s Online Viewing Rooms, which debuted last week in place of
the cancelled Hong Kong fair.

The post Art Basel Is Postponing Its Marquee Swiss Fair From
June to September, Adding to a Year-End Crush in the Art Market
Calendar appeared first on artnet News.