Zhu Tao's
ink-wash painting, "Flower Language."[Photo by
Shanghaidaily.com] |
Last year the huge
success of the Beijing-based China International Gallery Exposition (CIGE)
helped it garner the "big brother" status in China's art scene, while its rivals
in Shanghai are still wracking their brains trying to figure out how they can
acquire the ranking.
The Shanghai Spring Art Salon (SSAS) which opens today at ShanghaiMart
is one of the contenders. According to the organizer, the annual art fair has
attracted nearly 100 galleries from both home and abroad.
"About 30 percent of them are overseas galleries," says Susan Xie,
coordinator of marketing and media for the art salon. "Unlike previous years, we
won't allow individual artist to join in to better guarantee the quality of the
fair."
The result is that the number of European galleries has decreased while the
number of Japanese galleries has increased: About 10 Japanese galleries are on
the list.
In a bid to "freshen up" the image of the SSAS, which was established in
2003, this year's spotlight is on "new media art" - photos and digitally made
art, including pictures taken by Marie-Francoise Plissart, a famous Belgian
photographer. It also promotes young Chinese artists, providing them with
valuable public exposure.
Compared with Shanghai Spring Art Salon, the China International Gallery Expo
began half a month earlier. Putting on a top art fair requires a clear strategy,
access to galleries around the globe and a keen eye for detail.
A simple example of the difference between the CIGE and the SSAS is in their
respective VIP previews, which are usually held a day prior to the official
opening. Naturally these "big shots" have the advantage of being able to
purchase good art pieces earlier.
"The VIP preview is crucial for an art fair, since these people are the
target customers, and many of them are influential collectors, curators and
artists from around the world," claims Wang Yihan, director of the committee of
CIGE. "How they think of this fair will be reflected in the headlines of the
next day's newspapers."
Wang says CIGE's VIP preview for 2,000 people is set on May 2 at the China
World Trade Center. An invitation with printed name - rather than hand-written -
was distributed several months earlier.
"Although it has caused additional cost for printing, we think it's
worthwhile," Wang explains. "That's how VIPs expect to be treated."
Wang and her staff have also arranged a dinner banquet at the five-star China
World Hotel after the preview.
Here in Shanghai, however, neither the Shanghai Art
Salon nor Shanghai Art Fair has realized the importance of the VIP preview. The
invitation is flying casually into the hands of anyone, resulting in "small
potatoes" mingled with "big crocodiles" at the preview.
| 1 | 2 |  |
