Shanghai to host art trading fair

Shanghai will host the second edition of the Shanghai International Art Trade Month from Oct 15 to Nov 15, the organizers announced at the West Bund Art Museum on Sept 15.

An online platform for the exhibition and trading of artworks was also launched on Tuesday.

Last year, the inaugural edition of the event proved to be a success, raking in more than 10 billion yuan in sales revenue, according to Wang Yayuan, deputy head of the publicity department of the municipality.

"Because of the pandemic, China has become the focus of international art institutions, and we have decided to continue with hosting the second Shanghai International Art Trade Month to boost confidence in the post-pandemic global art market," said Wang.

The event will consist of a series of auctions held online and offline by renowned companies such as Sotheby's, Christies and Philips, an exhibition of cultural relic and treasures in private collections, the eighth ART021 exhibition, and the West Bund Art and Design Expo.

The organizers also announced at the news conference on Tuesday that ART Tower, a new landmark building, will be constructed at the West Bund area. The project will be a multi-functional complex consisting of a 2,300-square-meter exhibition area of international standards, an artwork warehouse measuring 2,000 square meters, and 2,000 square meters of space for logistics services such as artwork restoration.

"We will provide a one-stop service at the Shanghai International Art Trade Center to ensure the maximum convenience for art institutions," said Fang Shizhong, head of the Xuhui district, where the West Bund art zone is located.