Exhibition Dates: Nov 28–December 1, 2013

VIP Vernissage: 2–5 pm, Thu, Nov 28, 2013

The Rockbund—NIB Building (No.130 East Beijing Road, Shanghai).

[Update: more detailed event list in Chinese here; English version below]

The inaugural edition of the ART021 art fair is due to open next week in Shanghai. Founded by Bao Yifeng, a prominent PR honcho (and art collector) and Ying Qinglan, the founder of Aether Space (weibo link) in Beijing, the fair is slated to take place at the NIB Building within the Rockbund complex on the Bund—a stone’s throw from the Rockbund Art Museum and the Peninsula.

One can only wonder if the fair is relying on a word-of-mouth promotional strategy to generate buzz, since very little information has as yet been released. Despite attempts to reach fair PR, few specifics of the fair was forthcoming (press release here). However, according to their weibo, weixin and galleries’ own mail-outs, participants include such prominent local galleries as ShanghART, Shanghai Gallery of Art, James Cohan, Aike–Dellarco Gallery, Leo Xu Projects, and Longmen—as well as the newly opened Antenna Space—all of which are based in Shanghai. A stellar contingent from Beijing will be present as well, such as Beijing Commune, Vitamin Creative Space, Platform China, Long March Space, Star Gallery and Chambers Fine Art, as well as Ink Studio, among others. Hive will be present as a gallery, having metamorphosed from Iberia Art Center (amid scandal earlier this year).

The fair is even managing to attract galleries from further afield, such as L-Art Gallery and Thousand Plateaus from Chengdu and Linda Gallery from Indonesia. In what is surely an excellent start for this small fair, international heavyweights such as White Cube and Galerie Perrotin will also be presenting works as well. Obviously ART021 has inspired the confidence of some despite its shambolic PR machine. Perhaps this little fair has the capacity to rival SH Contemporary which has in past years fallen victim to an infiltration by lower tier galleries. But, as with much happening in this emerging market, it’s not wise to make predictions until the chips have fallen — and the red dots appear. Either way, throwing some competition into the stagnant Mainland fair scene, cannot do anything but help.

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Thu, Nov 28:

3:00 pm Young Collectors’ Forum (青年收藏家养成计划)

Fri, Nov 29:

2:00 pm Showcase on private museums (民营美术馆的推介)

4:30 pm As Seen 2 Book Talk

Sat, Nov 30: 

2:00 pm Contemporary Art Collecting—the shift from wall paintings to installations

4:00 pm Daisuke Miyatsu: How an ordinary Japanese salaryman achieved his collecting dreams