Art fair looks to online pitch amid coronavirus outbreak

Visitors take a look at artworks during the Korea Galleries Art Fair at COEX in southern Seoul in this 2017 file photo. This year's Korea Galleries Art Fair will also be available through online marketplace as people avoiding gatherings due to coronavirus concerns. Korea Times file

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Establish in 1979, the Korea Galleries Art Fair is the oldest event of its kind in Korea. With many avoiding areas of social gathering due to coronavirus concerns, this year's Korea Galleries Art Fair has been turning to online promotion in addition to traditional onsite events at COEX from Thursday through Sunday with a preview on Wednesday.

The decision to postpone the 38th edition of the event came from 70 percent of the participating galleries, which are struggling to stimulate the local art market.

The Galleries Association of Korea, which organizes the fair, held an emergency board meeting and collected opinions from various experts in the art world. The final decision was made by the participating galleries.

This year, 110 galleries were to take part in the first art fair of the year, presenting some 3,000 pieces from 530 artists. The association called all 110 exhibitors of the event and asked whether or not they felt the event should go on or face cancellation; 70 percent of the galleries wanted to go ahead with this year's fair.

Choi Woong-chol, president of the Galleries Association of Korea, said the opinion of the members was the most important in deciding whether to continue this year's Korea Galleries Art Fair.

The cancellation penalty for pulling out of the fair at COEX, one of the largest convention centers in Korea, also influenced the decision. The penalty for breach of contract includes cancellation fees, as well as a two-year exclusion from COEX.

"We were ready to take the financial loss in case we called off this year's event, but 70 percent of our members wanted to take part in the art fair and we decided to continue," Choi explained.

Chung Sang-hwa's "Work B-6_1970" will be presented at the Korea Galleries Art Fair at COEX in southern Seoul from Thursday through Sunday. Courtesy of Galleries Association of Korea

Basic safety measures such as heat cameras will be installed at entrances and masks and sanitizers will be distributed to visitors to as preventative measures.

The Galleries Association of Korea joined hands with the nation's largest portal site Naver to create an online platform that showcases artworks at the fair.

"As people are reluctant to visit crowded facilities, we will post a video introducing each gallery's booth and artworks online and provide a discount for those who purchase through the online platform," Choi said.

With an aim of discovering aspiring artists, the association held a competition entitled "Zoom-In" in collaboration with Naver's creative content platform Grafolio and presents works of 10 winning artists at the fair.

Art Basel Hong Kong cancelled

Meanwhile, Art Basel Hong Kong, the largest art event in Asia originally scheduled in March, canceled this year's edition on Feb. 7 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Hong Kong reported 57 confirmed coronavirus cases with one death as of Monday. Hong Kong is more vulnerable to the deadly virus due to its proximity to mainland China.

Despite the petition from the Hong Kong Art Gallery Association to carry on with holding this year's event, describing Western criticism of the fair as "myopic," Art Basel decided to cancel the upcoming event in Asia citing concerns over health, safety and logistical issues.

"The decision to cancel Art Basel Hong Kong was an extremely difficult one for us. We explored every other possible option before doing so, gathering advice and perspectives from many gallerists, collectors, partners and external experts. We are acutely aware of the important role that the fair plays within the region's cultural scene and for our galleries, both in Asia and across the globe... Unfortunately, the sudden outbreak and rapid spread of the novel coronavirus radically changed the situation," Marc Spiegler, Global Director of Art Basel said in a statement.