There was little talk about art at a press conference held last week to promote this year’s Art Taipei. Rather than focus all their attention on the art fair, which begins on Friday, the assembled speakers competed in offering sympathy to the victims of Typhoon Morakot. The event reached a kind of denouement when Art Taipei CEO York Hsiao (蕭耀) presented an oversized check for NT$1 million to help victims of the disaster.
And the giving won’t stop there. Art Taipei organizers have pledged that the proceeds from tickets sold at the door will go to helping victims of the catastrophe.
“Last year [ticket sales] amounted to NT$2 million,” said Joanne Chen (陳韋晴), marketing director for Art Taipei. “We expect this number to increase to NT$3 million this year.”
Art Taipei will also hold a “charity bazaar” on Sept. 5 and Sept. 6 at a location that has yet to be determined. Chen said they expect galleries throughout Taiwan to collectively donate around 100 works of art. Proceeds from both events will go to The Red Cross Society of the Republic of China (中華民國紅十字會).
In its 16th year, Art Taipei is Taiwan’s
preeminent art fair. Forty-one galleries from Taiwan and 38 galleries from abroad will converge on the Taipei World Trade Center for five days where they will barter with potential buyers over paintings, sculpture, video and photography. This year’s theme is “Environment and Art” — fitting, perhaps, in light of accusations that lax enforcement of environmental regulations may have played a role in the Morakot disaster.
The fair also features a number of lectures by art professionals on topics ranging from the Asian art market to the future of contemporary art and investing in the current economic climate. Seating is limited to the first 100 applicants. For details of speakers and registration, go to www.art-taipei.com/2009aaeft.
WHAT: Art Taipei 2009: Urban Nomad
WHERE: Taipei World Trade Center (台北世貿中心), Area A, 3 Songlian Rd, Taipei City (台北市松廉路3號)
TICKETS: NT$200
ON THE NET: urbannomadfilmfest.blogspot.com
Hsiao told the Taipei Times it is clear that the financial crisis still resonates with galleries both at home and abroad, with the number of participants dropping from 111 in 2008 to 78 this year. It is a reality, he said, that forced Art Taipei to focus on better galleries.
“We spent more time evaluating the galleries and we even rejected some. So the quality is better,” he said.
Hsiao, himself an artist and owner of Capital Art Gallery (首都藝術中心), added that although there are fewer participating galleries from Taiwan, there has been an increase in the number of galleries from Japan.
“Japanese galleries sold out all the work they brought with them last year. This news circulated among other galleries, which explains why there has been an increase in the number of Japanese galleries participating this year,” he said.
He added that no galleries have pulled out in the past few weeks — a sign that Typhoon Morakot isn’t having the kind of influence that the 921 Earthquake and SARS did.
Art Taipei was cancelled in 1999 because of the 921 Earthquake and stopped for three years after SARS struck in 2002.
Organizers expressed concern that the general public might avoid this year’s art fair.
“A lot of people might ... [be] doing charity work on the weekend for those in the south,” Chen said. But she was optimistic that donating ticket sales to the Red Cross may be an added incentive for art enthusiasts to check out the fair.
She said that professional buyers, on the other hand, wouldn’t be influenced.
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