Art13 London opened its doors to VIPs and the press last night in what suceeded to be the city’s most up to date global contemporary art fair. Art13 has launched this brand new event a week prior to New Yorks Armory Week, making a brave challenge to New York’s March supremacy. The fair is the first modern and contemporary art fair in London to showcase on an equal footing, galleries from all over the world, with a major presence from Asia, Africa, as well as Western Europe and the Americas.
Featuring over 130 galleries, Art13 London will for the first time, give everyone the opportunity to see the extraordinary quality and variety of art produced around the world – establishing a global art fair for a global city. London’s vibrant art scene, financial basis and central positioning have established the city as a first port of call for collectors and dealers from new territories such as Russia, Asia and the Middle East. Reflecting this, Art13 London is delighted to have received applications from across the world, asserting the Fair’s broad global reach and confirming the city’s status as one of the world’s leading contemporary art centers.
The first edition isl taking place at Olympia Grand Hall, London from 1-3 March 2013. The Fair was founded by Art Fairs London Ltd, the organisers behind the ground-breaking ART HK: Hong Kong International Art Fair, of which Art Basel acquired a majority stake in 2011. Stephanie Dieckvoss will direct the fair, drawing on her experience as Fair Manager at Frieze Art Fair (2003-2006) and as Co-Director of ART HK: Hong Kong International Art Fair (2007- 2009) alongside Magnus Renfrew.
Art13 London is premiering London First; a curated section of the Fair featuring up to 15 young galleries under six years from across the globe. Through subsided stand rates, Art13 London will offer this geographically diverse range of young galleries the opportunity to exhibit at a fair in London for the first time. London First will be a significant focus within Art13 London, celebrating the Fair’s global ethos and its passionate commitment to showcasing young galleries to an international audience.
Stephanie Dieckvoss Fair Director of Art13 said; “We are very confident that both new and seasoned collectors will attend the fair, both local and international. The fair is gaining an incredible momentum and has already had a huge support from the collector side. Our advisory board is spreading the word about the fair and we have different strategies in place to channel this interest to our fair dates. Beside, many collectors from all over the world have second homes here or are regularly here for business purposes; after our initial research we have now such a positive feedback from collectors that we know we were spot on with this understanding”.
Prices range from £100 to £500,000, so there is something for personal and commercial collectors alike. – See more at: http://www.cityam.com/article/fair-enough-art-13-coming-london-and-its-bringing-rest-world#sthash.sIrZob8W.dpuf
Prices at the fair range from £500 to £500,000, so there is something available to buy in most price ranges. The fair runs through the weekend.
Photo: © PC Robinson ArtLyst 2013