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  2020-03-20

  Art Basel Hong Kong Moves Its Art Fair Online in the Wake of Coronavirus

  W Magazine’s “Art Basel Hong Kong Moves Its Art Fair Online in the Wake of Coronavirus” discusses the complete digitization of the 2020 Art Basel Hong Kong edition. The feeling of losing the general energy of art events or the excitement of an art fair booth setting more specifically that I and many of my friends and colleagues had when transitioning to remote work was echoed in the article. More interestingly, the article touches on the artistic responses to the pandemic - augmented reality or digital works playing with the new virtual lens that constituted our world during the height of Covid.
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  2020-06-06

  "Art Basel Has Canceled the 2020 Edition of Its Flagship Swiss Fair, Citing ‘Tumultuous and Challenging Times’"

  The Artnet article discusses the trepidation in decisions to resurrect in-person events, specifically annual international art fairs. Businesses and institutions prematurely made plans for the reopening of in-person events in the summer of 2020 in hopes of recouping money lost during the initial lockdown in the spring. Art fairs are premier money making events and networking opportunities in the contemporary art world that are ultimately economically beneficial for gallerists, art advisors, fine arts shipping companies, local restaurants and businesses, and hotels alike. Organizations such as Art Basel rake in enormous sums of money each year through their hosting of mega-art fairs in various international locations. The article focuses on Art Basel’s announcement of yet another change in the program for Art Basel as the art world grapples with the decision of public health versus economy. The fair looked to digital alternatives as a way to sustain in the interim.